This July 7, 2017 photo shows a section of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge. The sea walls of the artificial islands of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have none of the problems suggested by some recent Hong Kong media reports, the bridge’s operator said on April 4, 2018. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

HONG KONG - The sea walls of the artificial islands of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge have none of the problems suggested by some recent Hong Kong media reports, the bridge’s operator said on Wednesday.

The authority said the breakwaters had “entirely met all the relevant specifications and design requirements” after long-term observations, analysis

HZMB Authority made the remarks in response to media reports claiming that a section of the breakwaters around the bridge’s artificial islands might have been “washed away” or had “fallen apart” based on recent photos.

Breakwaters are artificial offshore structures protecting a harbor, anchorage, or marina basin from waves.

The authority said the breakwaters had “entirely met all the relevant specifications and design requirements” after long-term observations, analysis and even super Typhoon Hato in 2017.

The two specific parts that were accused of being washed away were designed to be installed under the sea. Therefore, it looked like some structures of the breakwaters were missing from aerial photos, the authority said.

This subsea designs are at connecting points of the artificial islands; along with the tunnel and the bridge, they ensure the bearing capacity of the subsea tunnel. This is in order to protect the bridge surface from powerful waves, the authority explained.

It stressed that after six years of preparatory work and eight years of construction, the main section of the bridge had passed all inspections and checks on Feb 6; consequently the quality of the bridge would stand the test of time, the authority stressed.

On Tuesday, a Chinese-language local media published recent drone photos and videos taken by a local photographer, which showed uneven margins of the breakwaters of one artificial island of HZMB. The media then speculated that the breakwaters had been broken by waves.

There are four artificial islands of the 55-kilometer HZMB - two are Hong Kong port and Zhuhai/Macao port; the other two, as part of the main bridge in the mainland water, are structures connecting the bridge with its 6.7-km subsea tunnel - known as the west and east artificial islands.

The 29.6-km main bridge is located in mainland waters and under the operations of the HZMB Authority – a management body jointly founded by governments of Guangdong province and Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions.

The bridge is expected to start operating in May or June, as China Daily learnt exclusively earlier this year. Facilities of the Hong Kong port connecting the bridge are still under construction.

heshusi@chinadailyhk.com