New Huanggang checkpoint daily traffic to top 100,000 during festival, minister says
Hong Kong's security minister says daily passenger flow at the new Huanggang checkpoint will exceed 100,000 during the Chung Yeung holiday, up from about 80,000 recently. Average waits are under five minutes and efficiency has improved at least fourfold.
The new Huanggang checkpoint, which opened on Monday, will see daily passenger traffic surpass 100,000 during the three-day Chung Yeung festival holiday, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said on Saturday.
Speaking on RTHK's "Saturday Accountability" programme, Tang said average daily passenger numbers over the past few working days had risen more than 1.5 times compared with the old checkpoint, with the peak nearly double. Operations had been smooth, he added.
He said daily passenger flow had been about 80,000 in recent days, and exceeded 92,000 the previous day. The old Huanggang checkpoint handled only about 30,000 to 40,000 people a day, he noted.
Waiting times were generally under five minutes, and even at the busiest times passengers waited less than 15 minutes, Tang said. Many people walked straight through, with only one or two people queuing. Because travellers now clear both出入境 formalities in a single queue, efficiency had improved by at least four times, he added.
The minister said about 9,000 vehicles crossed the border daily, similar to the old checkpoint, and on some days fewer vehicles used the new crossing because only certain licence plates are permitted.
Tang also said passenger numbers at the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line checkpoints had fallen by 3 to 7 per cent, or roughly 10,000 to 20,000 people, indicating travellers had shifted to the new Huanggang facility.