Allowing Guangdong private cars to come to Hong Kong won't affect local traffic, says transport chief

The local traffic won't be affected despite allowing Guangdong motorists to drive to Hong Kong, said the transport chief.

The government is mulling launching the "Guangdong private cars coming to Hong Kong" trial scheme via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) next year, with the vehicles to be parked at the car park on the artificial island at HZMB in the first phase.

Secretary for Transport and Logistics Lam Sai-hung said the vehicles from  Guangdong would not be allowed to enter urban roads in the first phase of the scheme and believed it would not affect local traffic.

He added that there will be more than a thousand parking spaces provided in the car park, and the government is working out the details of the scheme with the mainland and Macau authorities, such as how to allocate the quotas.

Regarding the second phase of the scheme to fully allow Guangdong self-driving to Hong Kong, Lam said authorities would decide after thorough consideration of factors such as the tiny geographical area, huge population, and differences in driving habits.

He added that the government does not have a timetable for implementing the second phase.