The Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal can accommodate up to 755 arriving and departing passengers simultaneously, according to figures revealed by officials on Tuesday.
In a media briefing about the facilities at the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal in the run-up to tomorrow’s resumption of the Macau-Wanzai ferry service, the officials said that the arrivals area of the terminal will have a maximum capacity of accommodating 465 passengers simultaneously, while the departure and embarkation areas together can accommodate up to 290 passengers at the same time.
The government first announced late last month that the passenger ferry service between the Inner Harbour and Wanzai in Zhuhai will resume on January 23, following the completion of major repairs at the Wanzai checkpoint.
The Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal checkpoint and the Wanzai checkpoint will operate from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily, much longer than before the ferry service was suspended in early 2016. The number of trips per day will increase to 110 from the 34 trips previously, the government said last month.
The passenger ferry service between the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal and the Wanzai checkpoint ran from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. before it was suspended in January 2016.
Each trip will now run every 15 minutes, which is more frequently than in the past, the government said last month.
Speaking to reporters during Tuesday’s media visit, Tong Iok Peng, who heads the Port Control Department of the Marine and Water Bureau (DSAMA), said that a three-level traveller immigration control measure will be implemented in the arrival area of the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal. According to Tong, normally only the A1 Green Area with a maximum capacity of accommodating 215 travellers opens in the terminal. When the number of travellers entering Macau exceeds that number, another area – the A2 Yellow Area with a maximum capacity of accommodating 150 travellers – will also open.
According to Tong, when even the A2 Yellow Area is also full of travellers, the third area – the B Red Area with a maximum capacity of accommodating 100 travellers – will also open.
With all the three areas in use, the arrivals area of the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal can accommodate up to 465 passengers at the same time, according to Tong.
According to the Macau Post Daily, also speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Ngai Soi Pan, the acting chief of the Border Control Department of the Public Security Police (PSP), said that the departures area and the embarkation area of the Inner Harbour Ferry Terminal can accommodate up to 290 travellers. Ngai said that when the number of passengers taking a trip to Wanzai exceeds this number, the police will stop travellers from entering the terminal.
According to an earlier announcement by the bureau, the ferry service from Wanzai will start at 12:45 p.m. tomorrow, while the first ferry will depart from the Macau side at 12:55 p.m. The service comprising two ferries will be operated by Yuet Tung Shipping, one with a capacity of 280 passengers and the other 150 passengers.
