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Following is a reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Leung Kwan-yuen in the Legislative Council today (June 30):
Question:
It has been reported that since February 22 this year, the Wenjindu Port crossing has been temporarily closed for reconstruction, resulting in a rapid increase in the number of cross-boundary vehicles using the Shenzhen Bay Control Point (SBCP) in recent months, thus lengthening the time required for crossing the boundary. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the estimated and actual utilisation of SBCP in the past three years;
(b) the vehicular and passenger flow of SBCP compares with that of the same period last year after the closure of Wenjindu Port; and
(c) whether the Immigration Department has adjusted the manpower in SBCP in response to the increase in the number of cross-boundary passengers and vehicular flow; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Reply:
President,
The Shenzhen Wenjindu Port Passenger Clearance Building has been temporarily closed for reconstruction works since February 22, 2010. As estimated by the Shenzhen Municipal Government, the reconstruction works will last for two years. Clearance services for passengers and private cars have been suspended since then. As regards the private cars, arrangements have been made by the Mainland authorities and the Transport Department of the HKSAR to allow some 400 cross-boundary private car owners who have quotas for using the Man Kam To Control Point to use an alternative control point of their own choice. In fact, the daily traffic flow of private cars at the Man Kam To Control Point was only around 400 in respect of cross-boundary private cars. Hence, the impact of the diversion of the private cars to the traffic flow of other control points, including SBCP, should not be significant.
Our reply on the questions of the Hon Leung is as follows:
(a) The SBCP commenced operation on July 1, 2007. The anticipated daily cross-boundary flow was 29,800 vehicles and 30,800 passengers.
From July to December 2007, i.e. in the first six months following its commissioning, the actual cross-boundary daily average flow was 3,100 vehicles and 23,700 passengers. In the ensuing two years, the average daily vehicular flow rose to 5,900 and 7,400 respectively in 2008 and 2009. In the first five months of this year, the average daily vehicular flow was 8,600 vehicles. In regard to passenger flow, the average was 34,200 and 46,100 respectively in 2008 and 2009. It reached 56,000 in the first five months of this year.
Regarding the cross-boundary vehicular traffic flow on which the Member expressed concern, the cross-boundary vehicular flow at the SBCP in the past three years still falls short of the anticipated target 29,800. The prevailing daily average vehicular flow is 8,600.
(2) From March to May in 2010 after the closure of Wenjindu Port, the monthly vehicular flow at the SBCP was 269,000, 267,400 and 267,900 vehicles respectively, a daily average of 8,700. The corresponding daily average for the same period in 2009 was 7,200. In other words, the average daily vehicular flow from March to May in 2010 has increased by about 21% over the same period in 2009. The quantitative change in vehicular flow is in line with the trend as the vehicular flow has also increased by 25% during the period from 2008 to 2009. It appears that the vehicle diversion of Man Kam To Control Point has very little impact on the traffic of SBCP.
(3) The Immigration Department has around 300 staff members working in SBCP, and has flexibly deployed its manpower in response to the actual passenger and vehicular flow at the SBCP. In 2008 and 2009, the Immigration Department appropriately deployed more staff of SBCP to process passenger clearance when the passenger flow exceeded the anticipated figure while the vehicular remained low. Early this year, around 20 staff members from other control points have been redeployed to the SBCP to cope with the increasing traffic.
Ends/Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Issued at HKT 17:27
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