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The second stage of reduction of the Frontier Closed Area (FCA) will be implemented at the zero hour of June 10 (next Monday). More than 710 hectares of land will be excised from the FCA. Local residents and members of the public may then enter the excised area without restriction.
The second stage of FCA reduction covers the section of land between the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the Ng Tung River, a spokesman for the Security Bureau said today (June 7). On the day of implementation, the original FCA signage will be covered and new signage will be erected along the new FCA boundary.
To implement the second-stage reduction, the Government has amended the Frontier Closed Area Order (Cap. 245A) and the Frontier Closed Area (Permission to Enter) Notice (Cap. 245H). The Legislative Council has completed the scrutiny of the legislative amendments. The amended law will come into effect on June 10.
Starting from June 10, the closed road restriction within the excised area will be lifted. Vehicles will be free to use the roads in the excised area, but they will have to follow other traffic instructions and restrictions. The Police will monitor the traffic situation closely, increase patrols along the main roads in the area, and implement traffic contingency measures if necessary.
Members of the public should note that the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point, the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the MTR Lo Wu Station will remain in the FCA after the second-stage FCA reduction, the spokesman said. Only boundary-crossing passengers using specified modes of transport and holders of the relevant Closed Area Permits are permitted to enter the above areas.
In 2008, following a wide consultation exercise, the Government announced the plan to reduce the land coverage of the FCA from about 2,800 hectares to about 400 hectares in three stages. The first stage of FCA reduction was implemented in February last year, covering the section between Mai Po and the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and the section between Lin Ma Hang and Sha Tau Kok. The first two stages of FCA reduction will release more than 1,450 hectares of land, more than half of the size of the original FCA. The third stage of reduction, covering the section between the Ng Tung River and Lin Ma Hang, is scheduled for implementation in 2015.
Ends/Friday, June 7, 2013
Issued at HKT 15:31
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