Passengers arriving at Hong Kong airport whose final destination is Macau will soon be able to transfer directly to Macau via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) without going through immigration and entering Hong Kong, local authorities said yesterday at the Legislative Assembly (AL) during the continuation of the two-day Q&A session between lawmakers and government officials.
In the debate that followed an inquiry from lawmaker Ip Sio Kai, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sion Chak, said that work to improve utilization of the HZMB is underway and soon will be enacted.
In the debate that followed, lawmaker Wang Sai Man further queried when passengers traveling to Macau would be able to avoid entering Hong Kong and instead be directly transferred to Macau via the HZMB.
Adding to the Secretary’s response, a representative from the Transport Bureau (DSAT) stated that further details would be “soon revealed,” disclosing that the method will be similar to past measures that provided passengers with the ability to acquire tickets for a direct transfer bus service during their airport ferry service, and staff from the same operator would handle the passenger luggage at the airport and transfer it onto the same bus to Macau.
Such measures have been requested by the public since the opening of the bridge. To date, the bridge has been seen to provided only limited convenience in conveying passengers to Macau, and they are currently required to use several separate modes of transport to arrive in Macau.
For the time being, no further details have been revealed on the date that the new method will enter into force, nor on the price of the service.
Goods transfer center to start operation this year
The Goods Transfer Center that will allow goods and products to be transported from Hong Kong to Macau via the HZMB more quickly and directly will enter into operation in the second half of this year, the Secretary for Security, Wong Sio Chak said in the reply to an inquiry from lawmaker Ip.
Wong noted that the construction of the facilities concluded in early May and work is now being undertaken in relation to the center’s operations.
Wong noted the Customs Service (SA) will be responsible for supervising the passage of goods.
The SA director, Vong Man Chong, advanced at the AL that the transference area is now being prepared and the surveillance system that will inspect the truck routes has already installed.
Vong also added that the customs inspection procedure is expected to take around 40 minutes, and this will provide an inspection capacity of 396 vehicles per day.
