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Following is a question by the Hon Miriam Lau and a reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (February 4):
Question:
The Government is pressing ahead with the expeditious commencement of cross-boundary transport infrastructure projects such as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point and, upon their commissioning, cross-boundary passenger and freight transport will be more convenient. Yet, the Review of the Use of Cross-boundary Ferry Terminals Report, which was released in May last year, had not assessed the impact of the commissioning of these infrastructure facilities on cross-boundary ferry services and only made a forecast of the demand for cross-boundary ferry services up to 2012. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of passengers of each of the cross-boundary ferry routes to and from the ports of Macao and the Mainland in the past five years, as well as the respective routes with the highest percentage of increase and decrease in the numbers of passengers during the period, and whether it has examined the relevant causes for such increase and decrease;
(b) when it will conduct an assessment of the impact of the commissioning of the aforesaid cross-boundary transport infrastructure facilities from 2014 onwards on the demand for cross-boundary ferry services; and
(c) given the increasingly convenient cross-boundary land transport, what long-term plans are in place to assist cross-boundary ferry services in enhancing their competitiveness, so as to enable a balanced development of cross-boundary sea and land transport services, and hence achieve a win-win situation and maintain Hong Kong's position as a transport and maritime hub?
Reply:
President,
It is the policy objective of the Government to enhance the connectivity with the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region to maintain Hong Kong's position as a transport and maritime hub. As mentioned in the "Review of the Use of Cross-boundary Ferry Terminals" Report published in May last year, in achieving this policy objective, we have assessed the demand for cross-boundary ferry services connecting to different destinations within the PRD (i.e. Macao and ports in the Mainland), the berthing capacity and passenger processing capacity of existing cross-boundary ferry terminals (CBFTs), the operational efficiency of terminal facilities, etc. In overall terms, the provision of berthing slots at existing CBFTs is able to meet the requirement.
Our reply to the specific questions are as follows:
(a) At present, there are 13 cross-boundary ferry routes connecting Hong Kong and 14 Macao and Mainland ports. The number of passengers of these routes in the past five years is tabulated in the Annex.
As indicated in the Annex, the number of Hong Kong residents and visitors travelling to and from Macao increased from 11.88 million in 2004 to 18.60 million in 2008, at an average annual growth rate of 11.8%. In contrast, the patronage of cross-boundary ferries to and from Mainland was on a decreasing trend, reducing from 7.30 million in 2004 to 5.67 million in 2008.
The recent boom of the hospitality and construction industries in Macao led to the increase in the number of visitors to and from Macao. In addition to the visitor traffic, the number of Hong Kong residents working there had also increased. However, as a result of the financial tsunami, the halt to major construction projects in Macao and the tightening measures imposed by the Mainland authorities on travellers to Macao via Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme, the growth in the number of passengers to and from Macao slowed down in the second half of 2008.
In recent years, there have been upgrades to the road networks in the east bank of the PRD, land crossing capacities between Hong Kong and the Mainland have been enhanced, choices of routings and coverage of cross-boundary coach have also widened. Cross-boundary ferry services are now more focused on ports in the west bank of the PRD. The number of passengers travelling to and from major ports including Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Shunde has remained steady, and recorded a lower level of decrease.
(b) We agree that the infrastructural projects mentioned in the question would have certain impact on cross-boundary ferry services. The Marine Department (MD) would closely monitor the patronage level of these routes in the light of the progress of these projects. On the other hand, we will also work with the Planning Department to regularly conduct Cross-boundary Travel Surveys and related forecasts, taking into consideration economic data affecting passenger and cargo flows, including various infrastructure projects in progress or under planning. Such information will also facilitate our assessing changes in the demand for cross-boundary ferry services, thus ensuring our CBFT facilities are capable of meeting the demand.
(c) We will continue to review the use of CBFTs from time to time, with a view to continuously improving terminal operation and facilities, encouraging operators to provide diversified cross-boundary ferry services and providing a more desirable environment for passengers.
On the improvement of CBFTs operation, the daily operating hours of China Ferry Terminal have been extended by two hours to midnight from October 27, 2008 onwards, providing further convenience to passengers. On the other hand, MD has also enhanced the mechanism for allocating berthing slots to ensure fair and efficient allocation of public resources. The enhanced mechanism becomes more transparent, and would encourage existing or new operators to provide additional services or ferry routes, thus conducive to achieving the objective of enhancing our connectivity with the PRD region.
On facilities, we will continue with upgrading works at CBFTs to ensure that terminal and supporting facilities meet the need of operators and cross-boundary visitors, providing comfortable, safe and efficient services.
The Government will also tie in inter-modal traffic arrangements with the development need of cross-boundary ferry services. For instance, through the promotion of upstream check-in and baggage handling services, the Hong Kong Airport Authority will provide a more comfortable and convenient environment for cross-boundary ferry passengers from the PRD taking their flights to overseas destinations via SkyPier of the Hong Kong International Airport.
Cross-boundary ferry services are an integral part of our cross-boundary transport network. We will continue to maintain close liaison with the relevant authorities of Macao and the Mainland to ensure that the role of cross-boundary ferry services will not be neglected in the overall transport network so as to meet the needs of different passengers.
Ends/Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:16
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