New Huanggang checkpoint cuts人流 at Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau by up to 7 per cent
Hong Kong's new Huanggang checkpoint has diverted 3 to 7 per cent of traffic from the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau border crossings since opening a week ago, the security minister said. Daily usage has more than doubled to about 80,000 people, with clearance times averaging five to 15 minutes.
The new Huanggang checkpoint has diverted 3 to 7 per cent of passenger traffic from the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau spur line crossings since it opened about a week ago, Hong Kong's security minister said on Sunday.
Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung told a television programme that the new checkpoint was operating smoothly overall, with both people and vehicles clearing customs in an average of five to 15 minutes. In the first few days of operation, an average of about 80,000 people used the checkpoint daily, more than double the number before its redevelopment, and he expected the figure to keep rising.
Immigration Department figures showed about 130,000 people entered or left Hong Kong through the new Huanggang checkpoint on Saturday.
On vehicle clearance, Tang said there was heavier traffic and queuing on the first day, partly because some drivers were unfamiliar with the procedures. After staff reminded motorists of the requirements, operations returned to normal.
Asked whether the "white list" arrangement for personnel movement at the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Park could be extended to the new Huanggang checkpoint to speed up flows in the Northern Metropolis and elsewhere, Tang said frictionless clearance technology still had limitations, including caps on the number of people, and could not be implemented for now.
