The new Macao-mainland joint border checkpoint on Hengqin Island will come into service at 3 pm next Tuesday when Macao’s Lotus Flower checkpoint in Cotai will be relocated there, the Macao Government Information Bureau (GCS) announced in a statement last night.
According to the statement, while the clearance services for travellers and for Macao-bound vehicles will be relocated to the new Hengqin checkpoint building next Tuesday, the clearance services for mainland-bound vehicles will remain at the current Hengqin checkpoint building, which is adjacent to the new Hengqin checkpoint building.
“Residents, visitors, non-resident workers, and vehicle drivers are advised to pay close attention to the new clearance arrangements following the opening of the new Hengqin checkpoint,” the statement said.
A joint Macao-mainland immigration and customs clearance system officially known as “joint inspection and one-time release” will be adopted at the new Hengqin checkpoint where travellers will be required to pass border controls only once when completing their departure and arrival formalities.
In October last year, the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) in Beijing approved a proposal by the State Council to relocate Macao’s Lotus Flower checkpoint from Cotai to Hengqin and grant the Macao Special Administrative Region (MSAR) jurisdiction over the Macao-side checkpoint zone of the new Hengqin checkpoint and adjoining areas.
Macao’s border checkpoint in Cotai is linked to Zhuhai’s border checkpoint on Hengqin via the 1,756-metre-long, six-lane Lotus Flower Bridge across a narrow river between the western shore of Cotai and the adjacent island administered by Zhuhai. The separate Cotai-Hengqin checkpoints came into service in March 2000.
The decision by the NPC Standing Committee in October last year authorises the MSAR to administer the Macao-side checkpoint zone of the new Hengqin checkpoint and adjoining areas from the day they come into use in accordance with Macao’s laws.
The decision passed by the NPC Standing Committee will be implemented in phases. Macao’s jurisdiction will cover: 1) the Macao-side checkpoint zone of the new Hengqin checkpoint, 2) the Lotus Flower Bridge, 3) a link – by access roads and a bridge – between the University of Macau (UM) campus on Hengqin and the checkpoint, and 4) an area reserved for the possible extension of Macao’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) to the checkpoint. The timing of the gradual implementation will be determined by the State Council, according to the decision in October last year.
The Legislative Assembly (AL) passed a government-initiated bill on 16 March enabling Macao’s Lotus Flower border checkpoint to be relocated to the new Hengqin border checkpoint building, according to which Macao’s laws are to apply on the Macao-side checkpoint zone of the new Hengqin checkpoint and adjoining areas. The jurisdiction over the Macao-side checkpoint zone of the new Hengqin checkpoint and the Lotus Flower Bridge – involving a gross area of 66,428 square metres – was transferred from Zhuhai to the MSAR on 18 March, when Macao’s laws started to apply there.
The Macao and Zhuhai governments have said that they aim for the second phase – permanent clearance channels for vehicles and the link between the University of Macau campus and the Hengqin checkpoint – to come into service at the end of next year.
There is no official timetable for the third phase – the area reserved for the possible extension of Macao’s Light Rail Transit to the Hengqin checkpoint.
The joint Hengqin checkpoint was initially scheduled to come into service in the first half of this year but its operation has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
(The Macau Post Daily/Macau News)
PHOTO © Government Information Bureau (GCS)
