On January 18, it was learned from the Guangzhou Central District Traffic Project Management Center that, as China's first fully cross-section cast immersed tube tunnel on an inland river, the Chebei Road—Xinjiao East Road Tunnel project has seen its first two 60,000-tonne “giant” immersed tubes (E3 and E4) floated out of the dock. According to reports, these two “giant” immersed tubes completed their float-up in late December last year; on January 18 this year, the E4 tube was successfully floated out, while the E3 tube is scheduled to be floated out on January 21.

At 10:00 a.m. on January 18, the project contractor began preparations for the float-out of the E4 immersed tube. After about five hours, the tide level met the requirements for floating, and the E4 tube was winched to the designated area, with mooring to be completed by evening. The entire float-out process lasted about 8.5 hours. According to the contractor, the Chebei Road—Xinjiao East Road Tunnel has a total of four immersed tubes, which will be floated and installed in two batches. With the first two tubes now floated out, the project is one step closer to its goal of opening to traffic by the end of 2022.

According to reports, the Chebei Road–Xinjiao East Road Tunnel project is Guangzhou's first river-crossing tunnel project implemented under a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The Guangzhou Central District Traffic Project Management Center is responsible for organizing construction, and the contractor is CCCC Fourth Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. The Chebei Road—Xinjiao East Road Tunnel project (from Huangpu Avenue to Xingang East Road) is designed to run from Xingang East Road in the south to Huangpu Avenue in the north. The road is classified as an urban arterial road, with a total length of about 2.07 km, including a 1,547-meter tunnel section (including a 492-meter immersed tube section). The planned road width is 60 meters, with six lanes in both directions and a design speed of 60 km/h.

The Chebei Road–Xingang East Road Tunnel is expected to be completed and opened to traffic by the end of 2022, after which vehicles can travel directly from Chebei Road to Xingang East Road. At present, driving from Chebei South Road to the Poly InterContinental Hotel in Pazhou on the opposite bank requires detouring via Keyun Road and Pazhou Bridge, taking about 15 to 30 minutes and often experiencing congestion during rush hours. Once the tunnel is completed and opened, the travel distance will be greatly shortened and the travel time will be only about 1 minute. It will become an important node in the transportation artery connecting Huangpu, Tianhe, Haizhu and Panyu, and is of great strategic significance for improving the efficiency of Guangzhou's ring expressway network and connecting the major corridor on the west bank of the Pearl River in the Greater Bay Area.