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LCQ11: Capacity and facilities of Shenzhen Bay Port
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     Following is a question by the Hon Frankie Yick and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Professor Anthony Cheung Bing-leung, in the Legislative Council today (Jul 6):

Question:

     The current four vehicular boundary crossings are located in Shenzhen Bay, Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok respectively. The Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai (LT/HYW) Boundary Control Point (BCP), now under construction, is expected to be commissioned in 2018 at the earliest. Recently, some members of the freight transport industry have indicated that they were notified by the Mainland authorities that starting from 2018, they may only use the two boundary crossings in Shenzhen Bay and LT/HYW for land freight transport purposes (the new arrangement). They have pointed out that the ancillary facilities at the Hong Kong side of the Shenzhen Bay Port (SBP) are inadequate and it is still uncertain whether LT/HYW BCP can be commissioned in 2018 as scheduled. As a result, some members of the freight transport industry are very worried about the new arrangement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether the authorities are aware of the new arrangement; if so, of the details and when the authorities will consult the industry on the new arrangement; if they are not aware, whether the authorities will discuss with the Mainland authorities the implementation of the new arrangement only after the formal commissioning of LT/HYW BCP and the confirmation of the proper operation of the BCP in all aspects;

(2) as it has been reported that the traffic at SBP is already very congested and close to saturation at present, and some members of the freight transport industry have criticised that the ancillary facilities (e.g. the logistic support for transport companies, the space for drivers to take a break, convenient store/refreshment kiosk, toilet, etc.) at SBP are far worse than those of the Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Port, whether the authorities made any improvements to the transport and ancillary facilities at SBP in the past three years; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) whether the authorities will consider setting up an inter-departmental working group, which includes also representatives from the freight transport industry, to be responsible for rationalising the operation of boundary crossings to complement the development of land-based cross-boundary transport; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

     My reply to the various part of Hon Frankie Yick's question is as follows:

     The current four boundary crossings between Hong Kong and Shenzhen (namely Shenzhen Bay, Lok Ma Chau, Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok) are for both passengers and cargo. The Shenzhen Municipal Government is exploring the feasibility of rationalising the various boundary crossings for cargo clearance upon the completion of the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point, and has briefed relevant bureaux and departments of the HKSAR Government on their preliminary proposal. The HKSAR Government has reservation about the proposal and has relayed our concern to the Shenzhen side. If there are further exchanges on this matter, the HKSAR Government will take into account the views from our local transportation and logistics sectors as well as other stakeholders, and consult them in a timely manner.

     Shenzhen Bay Port (Hong Kong Port Area) can handle 78 000 vehicle trips and 137 000 passenger trips per day. In 2015, the daily average cross-boundary vehicular flow at the Shenzhen Bay Port was only about 10 140 vehicles (two-way), of which 1 760 were goods vehicles, and the passenger flow was 103 253. Both were below the design capacity. At present, the flow of vehicles and passengers is smooth, and the transport facilities on the access roads within Hong Kong connecting to the Shenzhen Bay Control Point can meet the demand.

     Major ancillary facilities provided in the clearance area for goods in Hong Kong Port Area are goods vehicles kiosks, customs examination building and X-ray vehicle inspection building for inbound and outbound cargo, immigration office, police office, fire station and other port facilities. At the Cargo Clearance Area, there are holding areas for vehicles awaiting cross-boundary clearance with four public toilets nearby. The facilities are similar to those at other border (vehicles) control points. In the past three years, the HKSAR Government has implemented improvement works to various ancillary facilities at Shenzhen Bay Port as necessary, which include:

(1) installing five additional multi-purpose e-Channels to enhance clearance efficiency;
(2) installing e-Channels with voice navigation function for use by visually impaired persons;
(3) in response to request from cross-boundary coach industry, setting up two regulator's kiosks in the Passenger Clearance Area for storage and staff to take rest; and
(4) putting in place other improvement works, such as replacing lighting facilities, repaving the pedestrian road outside Passenger Terminal Building, installing video walls for disseminating government messages etc.

Ends/Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Issued at HKT 16:30

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