Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam hails opening of new border checkpoint between city and Shenzhen
- Heung Yuen Wai-Liantang crossing will be the first land-based one in Hong Kong with direct access facilities for both passengers and vehicles
- The checkpoint is open for cargo only because of the pandemic
Guangdong Communist Party chief Li Xi, provincial governor Ma Xingrui, Zhang Xiaoming, deputy director of the State Council’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office, and central government liaison office director Luo Huining also attended the ceremony.
The new crossing is the seventh land-based control point on the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and adds to Hong Kong’s 14 existing control points on sea, air and land.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the checkpoint opened for cargo only from 4pm on Wednesday.
Lam said she was excited to see the opening of the crossing, as the project was hammered out in 2008 when she was secretary for development. She said the Greater Bay Area plan had increased the value of the facility.
“In the past two years, two major [pieces of] cross-border infrastructure, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge have commenced [operations],” Lam said.
“The travel time between the two places has been shortened, further improving the layout of the ‘one-hour living circle’ of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau.”
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The Heung Yuen Wai-Liantang border crossing is the first land-based one in Hong Kong with direct access facilities for both passengers and vehicles, and is designed to handle 17,850 vehicle trips and 30,000 passenger trips a day. The facility was designed so users could take public transport, private cars or walk through a pedestrian subway to reach the control point for immigration clearance.
On the Hong Kong side, it is linked to the 11km toll-free Heung Yuen Wai Highway, which connects to Fanling Highway and was opened in May last year.
At present, cross-border traffic from the eastern New Territories to eastern Shenzhen flows through the Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok control points.
Lam led a big delegation across the border, including seven ministers and the three heads of the city’s police, customs and Immigration Department.
After the ceremony, Lam visited the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Cooperation Zone and joined a lunch banquet hosted by the Shenzhen government.
