Local government wants to improve the facilities of the Macau Port Area at the Hengqin Border to facilitate the use of this checkpoint by locals and visitors, the Secretary for Economy and Finance, Lei Wai Nong, has said during a visit to the facility.
Lei was at Hengqin in his role as a chairman of the Executive Committee of the Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone, offering assurance that the Macau government would enforce improvements to the border crossing system at the post to make it more efficient and convenient.
Lei said the goal is that this border post become more convenient so it can be used more frequently and so benefit the businesses located on both sides of the border.
According to the data disclosed by the Public Security Police Force, during the nine days of the Golden Week of the Lunar New Year (Jan. 21 to 29), 236,011 people used the Hengqin Port to cross between Macau and the mainland, a figure that represents only 7.7% of the total of 3.07 million border crossings recorded in all posts in the same period.
The larger share of all crossings continues to happen at Border Gate, which recorded 1.51 million crossings (49.2%) over the Golden Week, followed by the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Port with 532,337 (17.3%) and Qingmao 443,317 (14.4%).
Also of note is the fact that from the over 236,000 who used the Hengqin port, 43.4% were local residents.
According to the Executive Committee of the Cooperation Zone, 60% of all vehicles that entered Hengqin over the holidays also had a Macau license plate.
Further integration in three ways
The Guangdong-Macao In-depth Cooperation Zone will accelerate integration with Macau in three ways, Fu Yongge, deputy director of the Executive Council of the Zone, has said.
The first is to attract global resources to engage in shared research in Hengqin. For example, businesses will receive support to build research platforms with the University of Macau (UM). Efforts will also be put into traditional Chinese medicine, metaverse, commercial pitching and establishing a registrar system.
The second is to establish ferry services between Hengqin Island and Macau’s Inner Harbour. Construction of the bridge connecting the Zone and the UM will be accelerated. Macau residents living in the Macao New Neighbourhood project will be permitted to use Internet and foreign TV channels.
The third is to align services and products available in the Macao New Neighbourhood with those in Macau.
Reviewing the previous year, Fu said the Zone’s total tax revenue was 35.389 billion Chinese yuan. The number of Macao-funded enterprises in the Zone reached 5,323 and the number of Macau residents who live and work there, 6,909. The Zone has achieved initial results through extensive consultation and joint construction, diversified industries and the integrated development of Macau and Hengqin.
Renato Marques & Anthony Lam
