Agents eye big profits as applications open for licences to cross border at Hong Kong-Zhuhai bridge
Members of business and political elite eligible for one of 3,000 permits up for grabs, provided they have made the right contributions
The permits will be limited, and offered only to people or companies who have made certain financial or political contributions on the mainland.
Up to 3,000 private Hong Kong cars will be able to use the bridge, along with the existing 29,600 and 3,300 existing cross-border-licensed cars in Hong Kong and the mainland, and 140 shuttle buses.
Citizens or companies can apply for a licence, but the licences pertain to a specific vehicle. They will allow the car to drive across the bridge and then anywhere on the other side, on the mainland or Hong Kong.
Undert traffic arrangements revealed so far, anyone without a licensed car will have to take a shuttle bus to cross the bridge. Cars with existing cross-border permits will be allowed to cross the bridge without an extra permit for two years after it opens.
The Y-shaped 42km bridge is set to open by the end of 2017, a year later than originally planned.
According to the Guangdong province public security authority, Hong Kong companies which have paid total tax of 100,000 yuan (HK$118,621) in the past three years, or which have been recognised as a national hi-tech enterprise, can apply.