Public Security Police (PSP) Barrier Gate Commissioner Ku Keng Hin said Monday that police expect a rise of up to eight percent in the number of travellers using the checkpoint during Chinese New Year holidays, as he predicted that many would take advantage of the newly opened Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway link to Zhuhai and travel on to Macau.
“Since the trains started running on the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity link last month, we have been monitoring whether or not more people have been using [the Barrier Gate],” said Ku. “… We expect that the number of people crossing the border will increase during the Golden Week [the mainland’s week-long Lunar New Year holiday] due to the railway,” he was quoted by The Macau Post Daily as saying.
Although the actual holiday begins next Monday, Ku said police anticipated that the peak period for travellers entering Macau through the Barrier Gate would be from this coming Thursday to Saturday, while the period between Tuesday and Fridaynext week would be the peak period for travellers departing the city.
The police chief further said police expected that the number of people using the Barrier Gate during the week-long holiday would show a five to eight percent increase compared to the same period last year.
Ku added that similar to the past years, the Public Security Police would block all leave for frontline immigration officers during the period, while more staff would be on duty at all the border checkpoints to handle the increased exits and entriesduring the holiday.
According to PSP statistics, there were about 2.46 million people, including locals and tourists, crossing the border during the first week of the Lunar New Year last year.
The Public Security Police includes the city’s Immigration Department.(macaunews)
