China Continent P&C Wins US$4.2 Billion Cross-Sea Bridge Underwriting Contract

China Continent Property and Casualty Insurance Co. said it has entered into a six-year, 27.8 billion yuan (US$4.2 billion) insurance and third-party liability agreement with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Authority for the construction of a key part of the bridge project.

The amount underwritten breaks the record for a single project in southern China's Guangdong province, and the largest underwriting project in the country at present, said China Continent.

The authority opened the bidding for the underwriting contract in September 2010. China Continent Property and Casualty, a subsidiary of state-owned reinsurer China Re, was awarded the contract due to its experience in underwriting construction projects, according to the Shanghai-based nonlife insurer.

Five other insurers including PICC Property and Casualty, Ping An, China Pacific Insurance, China Taiping Insurance and BOC Insurance, were also awarded contracts to jointly underwrite the bridge, noted China Continent.

With an estimated total investment cost of 72.94 billion yuan, the 35.6-kilometer Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project is a series of bridges and tunnels that would connect the west side of Hong Kong with Macau and the neighboring city of Zhuhai, situated on the west side of the Pearl River Delta. The region is part of mainland China's southern industrial heartland, and the bridge project is intended to facilitate the economic development of the districts to be linked, according to the Transport and Housing Bureau of the Hong Kong government.

Construction is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2016. It is also expected to include the world's longest cross-sea bridge following completion of the construction, said PICC Property and Casualty in a statement.

In November, China Continent Property and Casualty reported total cumulative premium income of more than 12.5 billion yuan, up 9.6% from 11.4 billion yuan in October, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission.

(By Rebecca Ng, Hong Kong news editor: [email protected])