Huanggang Port an upgrade in cross-boundary commute | High-flier | Jeffrey Lam

The Huanggang Port Hong Kong Port Area Ordinance officially came into effect last week, marking the final preparatory stage for the new Huanggang Port which adopts a "cooperative inspection, one-time clearance" model. Passengers only need to queue once and pass through three sets of gates to complete both Hong Kong and mainland immigration procedures.

Overall clearance time will be dramatically reduced from 30 minutes to around five minutes, with a designed daily capacity of 200,000 passenger trips. This represents a breakthrough arrangement in cross-boundary infrastructure between the two places.

Back when the West Kowloon High Speed Rail Station and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge implemented the "co-location arrangement," opposition worried about security, questioned the efficiency, and even used judicial review to delay the project. After the high-speed rail commenced operations, travel times to mainland cities were significantly shortened. Following the opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, connectivity with western Guangdong became more efficient. The "cooperative inspection" model at the new Huanggang Port is an upgraded version of the earlier "co-location arrangement," further simplifying procedures and facilitating the flow of people.

The new port will operate 24 hours a day. Together with the development of the Northern Metropolis, cross-boundary commuting between Hung Shui Kiu and Qianhai will become even more convenient. I am looking forward to more ports implementing the 24-hour clearance in the future, further unlocking the potential of deeper integration between the two places. The opening of the new Huanggang Port once again proves that Hong Kong's development cannot be halted by short-term controversies. I have full confidence in Hong Kong.

I firmly believe that Hong Kong will continue to leverage the unique advantages of "One Country, Two Systems" to proactively align with national development strategies and deepen collaboration with cities in the Greater Bay Area. The Pearl of the Orient will surely shine even more brilliantly on the world stage.

The Honorable Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung is a non-official member of the Executive Council and chairman of the Vocational Training Council

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓