Jan. 18 – Hong Kong authorities approved a US$8.6 billion express rail link connecting the territory with Guangzhou and Shenzhen over the weekend sparking protests.

The controversial project was approved  by a 31-21 vote dominated by pro-establishment lawmakers. Protesters surrounded the Hong Kong legislature on Saturday claiming the project only benefited a privileged few, failed to seriously consider cheaper alternatives moreover leading to the destruction of homes in the New Territories.

The rail link will cut travel time from Hong Kong to Guangzhou to only 48 minutes further streamlining its link mainland economy by 2015.  It will also slash rail travel time from Hong Kong to Beijing from 30 hours to eight.The underground terminal will begin in West Kowloon district and cost  HK$2.57 billion per kilometer.

“We support this project because the economic benefits it can bring are very important to Hong Kong,” lawmaker Paul Tse said in a statement.“Hong Kong needs to look into the future and consider the jobs that the project would create, the tourism opportunities with more people traveling between Hong Kong and China.”

The project faced opposition from pro-democracy lawmakers who say they fall short of Hong Kong’s democratic aspirations with some of them threatening to resign, a move that could lead to a referendum on Hong Kong’s constitutional future reports The Wall Street Journal.