HK-Shenzhen crossing No 7 opens

The HK$33.7 billion Liantang Port/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point finally opened yesterday afternoon to cross-border trucks after seven years in the making.

The cargo trucks were virtually on their own in crossing the line as passenger transport is not allowed for now due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

At an opening ceremony in Shenzhen, Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said she saw it as symbolic that the border point opened on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of the Shenzhen special economic zone.

The seventh border point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen will shorten traveling times between the SAR and the eastern part of Guangdong, she noted.

Lam believes it can also stimulate cooperation between Hong Kong and neighboring cities in Guangdong.

She said it showed "great foresight" that the Hong Kong and Shenzhen administrations decided to build the port more than 10 years ago.

Also at the event were Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee, Secretary for Security John Lee Ka-chiu, Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui, Communist Party provincial secretary Li Xi, Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office deputy director Zhang Xiaoming and liaison office director Luo Huining.

Operating hours for cargo clearances will be from 7am to 10pm daily - same as the border ports at Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok. Thirty thousand people and close to 18,000 vehicles will be able to cross daily when the new port moves into its second stage of operations.

Vehicles need to stop only once for inspection and customs clearance time is 10 to 15 seconds on average for a car. On communications, the area within the border point is covered by a 5G network.

Stanley Chiang Chi-wai, chairman of the Hong Kong Land Transport Council, said the port will help move goods more smoothly through eastern areas as there is no direct route to the existing Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok ports. So drivers had to contend with busy roads and could be stuck in traffic jams.

Drivers could also head to other cities in eastern Guangdong through highways connected to the Heung Yuen Wai port and without crossing urban areas in Shenzhen.

But he said the opening of the Heung Yuen Wai checkpoint would not have a great impact on current cross-border freight movements for now as the volume has dropped due to the pandemic. Authorities in Hong Kong announced earlier that cross-border truck drivers can go through the control point with existing mainland documents and closed-road permits issued in the SAR.

Drivers can also undergo Covid-19 tests at the Liantang Port area in Shenzhen.

People will be able to reach the Heung Yuen Wai border point in private cars or on foot when it is open fully. Hong Kong authorities will also open parking spaces, public transport terminals, a pedestrian subway and shopping facilities.

wallis.wang@singtaonewscorp.com