Thousands of Macao drivers will be able to motor into Guangdong and beyond from New Year’s Day onwards.
Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Lam Hin San said yesterday that private cars from Macao would be able to enter mainland China via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai Port.
Lam added that he expected about 80,000 local cars to be eligible to apply for a Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles permit.
According to Lam, there are about 100,000 cars in Macao, of which nearly 20,000 are dual licence plate vehicles or have a single licence plate permit that can travel within Hengqin.
Lam noted that local residents who have reached the age of 18 and hold a Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macao Residents may apply for their local private car to enter and leave mainland China without any investment tax and special status restrictions, adding that each application can be for two drivers per car.
Local cars that have been issued licences will be able to enter Guangdong via the HZMB Zhuhai Port at midnight on 1 January at the earliest after making an appointment, Lam noted.
The validity period of the electronic temporary entry permits should be the same as that of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Macao Cross-border Vehicle Mainland Compulsory Insurance Equivalent Insurance purchased, with the longest not exceeding one year, Lam stressed, adding that registered cars may enter or leave Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Zhuhai Port multiple times, but the duration of stay should never exceed the validity period of the licence.
Lam underlined that after entering Guangdong, the consecutive length of each stay should not exceed 30 days, and that the annual cumulative length of stay should not exceed 180 days.
Drivers of vehicles that have been granted the Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles” policy are entitled to a “guarantee-free” policy, meaning they do not have to provide a deposit or bank guarantee to the mainland China customs administration, and are entitled to an “equivalent pre-acknowledgement” policy for cross-boundary vehicle insurance, according to Lam, who pointed out that in terms of customs clearance, the Macao and Zhuhai border checkpoints of the HZMB will share an electronic identification label for customs clearance.
Applications will take about 10 working days in mainland China to be processed.
Asked whether mainland China’s odd-even licence plate restriction policy, by which residents can only drive their cars on either odd or even days, based on the last digit of their licence plate numbers, is also required for local cars travelling in there, Lam underlined that there was no such restriction when the two governments signed the agreement.
Lam described the Northbound Travel for Macao Vehicles and the mutual recognition of driving licences between Macao and mainland China as “twins”, as they facilitate the integration of Macao residents into the “life” of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. He added that the latter was in the signing process, which would not take long to be implemented.
Vong Lap Fong, a committee member of the Macao Monetary Authority, said yesterday that the insurance products for cross-border vehicles from Guangdong and Macao comprise Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Macao Cross-border Vehicle Mainland Compulsory Insurance Equivalent Insurance and Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Cross-border Vehicle Commercial Insurance for Macao, in which the former is compulsory and Macao vehicles can only be driven in mainland China after purchasing it, while the latter is optional, meaning that owners can choose whether to buy it according to their own needs.
In the first phase, Vong pointed out, six insurance companies will offer insurance products for cross-border vehicles from Guangdong and Macao, with the hope of arranging short-term insurance policies, with an initial coverage period of no less than one month, The Macau Post Daily reported.
