The construction of the new border between Macau and Zhuhai on Hengqin Island is expected to be finished by Dec 20-the 20th anniversary of Macau’s return to China, local authorities said quoted by China Daily.
After it starts operation, the new Hengqin port is expected to handle 222,000 daily passenger crossings, up from 25,300 currently, and the daily vehicle crossings will increase from about 2,700 to more than 7,000, said Wang Yan, deputy director of Hengqin New Area Free Trade Office.
More than 5,000 workers are contributing to the construction, he added.
Currently, although Lotus Bridge in Macau is very close to Zhuhai’s Hengqin port, the separate customs clearance takes around half an hour and passengers have to take shuttle buses over Lotus Bridge, he said.
In order to cut customs clearance time, Lotus border will be moved to the new Hengqin border and they will adopt joint inspection so that passengers and vehicles only need to be checked once, he said.
“It will only take around three to five minutes for customs clearance through the e-channels.”
The first floor of Hengqin building border is set up for people traveling from Zhuhai to Macau and the second floor is designated for travelers from Macau to Zhuhai.
Currently, there are 24 departure and 24 entry e-channels, six departure and seven manual entry lanes for the border crossing, he said, adding that 29 departure and 19 entry e-channels have been reserved for future use.
Zhang Tong, chairman of Zhuhai Dahengqin Port Co, said the opening of the new Hengqin border, will meet the demands of a growing number of individuals crossing between Zhuhai and Macau.
In 2018, the Gongbei border between Zhuhai and Macau recorded 134 million passenger crossings, up 5 percent over 2017.
It was the busiest border in China for the seventh consecutive year and one of the busiest in the world, according to the local government.
China’s top legislature, the National People’s Congress, on Oct 26 voted to adopt a decision on authorizing the jurisdiction of Macau’s border zone at Hengqin port and extended areas in Guangdong to Macau.
In order to enhance the connection of infrastructure between Macau and Zhuhai, and make the transportation, exchange and trade between the places more convenient, it is necessary to relocate Macau’s border zone to Hengqin, said the lawmakers.
