Mainland, SAR to ease hengqin’s border-crossing traffic

A videoconference was recently held to discuss the administrative borderline, single-license vehicles entering Hengqin, and Macau LRT’s Hengqin extension, among other topics.
The conference was held by mainland officials and SAR officials, led by Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak. The two parties delved deeply into topics crucial to the construction and establishment of the Guangdong-Macao Intensive Cooperation Zone in Hengqin (the Zone).
Consensus was achieved on multiple issues at the conference.
Border-crossing traffic will enjoy a one-stop border clearance, similar to travelers crossing on foot.
The so-called one-stop border clearance will only require travelers to present their ID documents once, after which both mainland and Macau immigration will be cleared.
At the conference, both parties agreed that a taskforce on the vehicle one-stop border clearance must be set up as soon as possible to establish the plan’s details.
Although the one-stop practice is currently being implemented for pedestrian border crossings at three of the city’s border checkpoints — the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge Checkpoint, the Hengqin Border Checkpoint and the Qingmao Border Checkpoint — it has never been used for travelers in vehicles.
Immigration officers at borders currently need to ensure both the vehicle and the passengers, including the driver, have the requisite registration and documentation to cross the border.
The one-stop crossing policy is set to be applied to passenger and cargo vehicles.
Additionally, the two parties discussed and came to a phasal agreement on single-license vehicles entering Hengqin. Currently, Macau vehicles need mainland car plates to enter Zhuhai. Under the single-license arrangement, these vehicles would be able to enter Hengqin with Macau car plates only. However, they could only be driven on the island of Hengqin.
The border checkpoint building on Hengqin will expand with a second phase. The expansion will include a station for the Macau LRT’s Hengqin extension line.
At the conference, the two parties discussed the arrangement and progress of construction of the LRT extension, with particular focus on the station to be built beneath the border checkpoint building.
The administrative body of the zone stressed that it would coordinate all parties to ensure smooth progress of the construction and the security of the border checkpoint building. Further work will be done to improve peak-hour traffic at the checkpoint.