************************************************************
The Under Secretary for Security, Mr Lai Tung-kwok, officiated at a ceremony at the Shek Chung Au Check Point at midnight yesterday (February 14), signifying that a total of more than 740 hectares of land was excised from the Frontier Closed Area (FCA) for public use in the first stage of the reduction of the FCA.
The Shek Chung Au Check Point operated by the Police and the Customs and Excise Department was closed officially right after the ceremony while the Sha Tau Kok Check Point started to operate simultaneously.
The Security Bureau announced in January 2008 that the coverage of the FCA would be substantially reduced from about 2,800 hectares to about 400 hectares. In order to implement the reduced coverage of the FCA while maintaining the integrity of the boundary, the Government needs to construct a secondary boundary fence along the boundary patrol road.
The construction works have been divided into four sections, namely the "Mai Po to Lok Ma Chau Control Point Section", the "Lok Ma Chau Control Point to Ng Tung River Section", the "Ng Tung River to Lin Ma Hang Section" and the "Lin Ma Hang to Sha Tau Kok Section". The Government implements the reduction of the FCA by amending the Frontier Closed Area Order in stages to tie in with the completion of the construction works for the four sections. The "Mai Po to Lok Ma Chau Control Point Section" and the "Lin Ma Hang to Sha Tau Kok Section" are covered in this first stage reduction.
The construction works for the "Lok Ma Chau Control Point to Ng Tung River Section" are expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2012. The Government aims to further reduce the FCA by introducing another amendment to the Frontier Closed Area Order in early 2013. As for the "Ng Tung River to Lin Ma Hang Section", the construction works will start in the first quarter of 2012 and are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2015.
Ends/Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Issued at HKT 00:44
NNNN
