Disneyland
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The Immigration Department has appealed to Mainland visitors coming for Hong Kong Disneyland to cross the boundary through Lo Wu control point.
A trial run to reshuffle Hong Kong resident and visitor counters at Lok Ma Chau control point will be conducted with a view to increasing the waiting area for visitors.
"We will try our best to man all the 50 counters at Lo Ma Chau control point during rush hours after opening of Disneyland," the Immigration Assistant Director (Control), Mr Simon Peh, said at a press conference today (September 5).
Lo Wu control point is the largest boundary control point in Hong Kong with 233 immigration clearance channels (210 traditional counters and 23 e-channels). The handling capacity of Lok Ma Chau control point is comparatively lower than Lo Wu.
To cope with the anticipated traffic demand, 187 officers will be redeployed from other divisions to reinforce the air, land and sea control points. Among them, 152 officers will be deployed to various land boundary control points.
Apart from staff reinforcement, all control points will flexibly deploy their staff according to situation and suspend leave applications. The Emergency Response Team may be activated if necessary.
The Immigration Department will closely liaise with Shenzhen authorities to monitor the situation at the control points and take timely crowd control measures to ensure smooth passenger flow. If necessary, Lo Wu control point will implement the Contra-flow Crowd Management Measure to relieve congestion.
In addition, the Immigration Department, the Police Force, the Customs and Excise Department, the Transport Department, the KCRC and the Shenzhen authorities will set up a Joint Command Centre at Lo Wu control point. "From September 8 to 25, 2005, the Joint Command Centre will be activated to enhance communications among departments and take immediate action on any untoward incidents," Mr Peh said.
As part of the appeal to Mainland visitors to cross the boundary through Lo Wu, a short video titled "Easy Boundary Crossing at Lo Wu", has been produced jointly with the Guangdong Public Security Bureau and the Shenzhen Frontier Inspection Station.
The video also serves to remind Mainland visitors to apply well in advance to their Mainland authority for exit-entry endorsements for Hong Kong. The film has been screened at the Guangdong Public Security Bureau and various Exit-entry Offices of the Guangdong Province since late August.
The Immigration Department is also encouraging Hong Kong permanent residents holding smart identity cards to pass through the boundary control points via e-channels. This will help the department to redeploy more officers to handle the increased number of visitors.
"All these measures will enable the department to cope with the increase in passenger traffic upon opening of the Hong Kong Disneyland. We will continue to provide a quality and swift immigration clearance service to the travelling public," Mr Peh said.
Ends/Monday, September 5, 2005
Issued at HKT 20:36
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