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LCQ18: Immigration-related transport infrastructure facilities
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     Following is a question by the Hon Claudia Mo and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Mr Frank Chan Fan, in the Legislative Council today (November 11):

Question:

     Regarding the immigration-related transport infrastructure facilities, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) at the time when it sought funding approval for the construction of various immigration control points and shipping control points (collectively referred to as control points), of the estimated average daily passenger throughputs and the relevant totals of the control points concerned in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year), of their commissioning (set out in tables of the same format as Table 1);

Table 1
Name of control point and the year of commissioning:  
         
Year after
commissioning
                         Estimated average daily passenger throughput
Inbound Outbound Total
First year      
Sixth year      
...      
31st year      

(2) in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year but not later than last year), of the commissioning of the various control points, of the average passenger throughputs of the relevant control points in the morning and afternoon of each day as well as the whole day and the relevant totals (set out in tables of the same format as Table 2);

Table 2
Name of control point: 
          
Year after
commissioning
                                        Average daily passenger throughput
Morning Afternoon Whole day
Inbound Outbound Total Inbound Outbound Total Inbound Outbound Total
First year                  
Sixth year                  
...                  
31st year                  

(3) at the time when it sought funding approval for the construction of some control points (i.e. Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, Lok Ma Chau, Shenzhen Bay, and Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai) and the roads connecting the control points (i.e. Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Link Road, Lung Shan Tunnel, and Heung Yuen Wai Highway), of the estimated average daily south-bound and north-bound traffic volumes and the relevant totals of the facilities concerned in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year), of their commissioning (set out in tables of the same format as Table 3);

Table 3
Name of control point/road and the year of commissioning: 
            
Year after
commissioning
                                   Estimated average daily traffic volume
South-bound North-bound Total
First year      
Sixth year      
...      
31st year      

(4) in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year but not later than last year), of the commissioning of the control points and the roads mentioned in (3), of the average south-bound and north-bound traffic volumes in the morning and afternoon of each day as well as the whole day and the relevant totals (set out in tables of the same format as Table 4);

Table 4
Name of control point/road: 
            
Year after
commissioning
                                                  Average daily traffic volume
Morning Afternoon Whole day
South-bound North-bound Total South-bound North-bound Total South-bound North-bound Total
First year                  
Sixth year                  
...                  
31st year                  

(5) of the amount of money paid to the Mainland authorities by the Government in respect of the Shenzhen Bay Port in each year since its commissioning in 2007 (set out in Table 5); the head of expenditure from which the money have been drawn;

Table 5
 
Year Land rental Maintenance fee Land development cost Others
2007        
...        
January to October 2020        

(6) given that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), wholly-owned by the Government, and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) have set up a Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism in respect of the operating arrangements for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), under which the MTRCL will bear all the risk or retain all the return if the deviation of the actual patronage from the projected patronage is within 15 per cent, and MTRCL and KCRC will share the risk or return according to the ratio of 30 per cent to 70 per cent if the deviation of the actual patronage from the projected patronage is beyond 15 per cent, of the relevant profits and losses in each year since the commissioning of XRL in 2018, and the relevant estimated amount for the current year; whether the Government needs to inject funds to KCRC to enable it to bear the risks concerned; if so, of the head of expenditure from which the amount is drawn; and

(7) of the Government's income and expenditure in respect of HZMB in each year since its commissioning in 2018; the respective estimates on the payback period of the HZMB Hong Kong Link Road made by the Government during the planning stage and at present?

Reply:
 
President,

     Having consulted the Security Bureau/Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Immigration Department (ImmD), the Development Bureau/Planning Department, the Transport Department and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Authority, my reply to the various parts of the Hon Claudia Mo's question is as follows.

(1) and (2) According to the information provided by ImmD, the average daily number of passenger trips using the following boundary control points (BCPs) in the past ten years is as follows:
 
                                                             Table 1
                       Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1)
BCPs/
 
Year
Lo Wu Lok Ma Chau Spur Line
(Note 3)
Man Kam To
(Note 4)
Sha Tau Kok
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 123,665 126,613 39,820 39,271 705 704 3,920 3,932
2011 125,796 128,531 47,344 46,289 227 248 4,300 4,213
2012 129,075 132,351 57,447 55,591 300 321 4,442 4,370
2013 123,596 128,735 65,437 62,424 1,894 1,323 4,759 4,541
2014 117,859 120,900 74,697 75,099 6,137 3,978 4,515 4,294
2015 115,327 112,638 81,889 87,807 6,270 4,678 4,424 4,156
2016 111,518 110,562 84,516 88,734 5,912 5,012 4,193 3,999
2017 111,197 112,661 80,994 81,922 6,187 5,431 4,309 4,147
2018 115,182 118,011 78,251 76,060 6,309 5,461 4,313 4,156
2019 105,470 108,871 69,343 68,072 5,291 4,642 3,731 3,616
2020
(Jan to Sep)
(Note 2)
9,854 10,058 6,528 6,307 472 415 359 338
  
                                   Table 1 (Con't)
                    Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1)
BCPs
 
Year
Lok Ma Chau
 
Shenzhen Bay
(Note 3)
HZMB Hong Kong Port
(Note 5)
Heung Yuen Wai
 (Note 6)
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 48,611 43,183 28,923 29,656 -- -- -- --
2011 45,566 40,385 33,887 34,760 -- -- -- --
2012 43,395 37,437 38,257 39,134 -- -- -- --
2013 42,258 35,643 43,839 45,065 -- -- -- --
2014 43,074 35,126 50,547 51,403 -- -- -- --
2015 42,548 35,441 51,350 51,903 -- -- -- --
2016 40,728 33,684 52,414 52,827 -- -- -- --
2017 43,038 35,572 55,450 55,857 -- -- -- --
2018 41,525 36,902 60,449 60,888 31,481 26,455 -- --
2019 35,730 32,220 52,690 52,861 24,270 28,944 -- --
2020
(Jan to Sep)
(Note 2)
3,096 2,820 6,619 6,208 2,915 2,983 0 0
 
                                                     Table 1 (Con't)
                          Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1)
BCPs/
 
Year
Airport Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal China Ferry Terminal Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal
 (Note 7)
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 46,658 44,496 22,170 25,299 10,426 11,288 2 2
2011 49,753 47,492 22,794 26,209 10,968 12,106 398 580
2012 52,857 50,345 22,550 26,077 10,712 12,851 540 666
2013 57,273 54,920 22,387 26,089 11,379 13,828 - -
2014 60,368 58,074 21,811 26,703 10,911 14,263 - -
2015 64,586 62,317 21,335 26,414 10,510 12,794 - -
2016 67,460 65,439 21,090 25,471 9,206 11,048 892 878
2017 70,873 68,665 20,549 26,894 9,051 10,332 948 960
2018 74,279 71,961 19,850 24,788 8,994 9,742 1,002 1,011
2019 68,063 66,178 13,972 13,912 4,999 5,303 714 712
2020
(Jan to Sep)
(Note 2)
10,449 9,782 1,135 1,131 370 348 52 53
 
 
                                        Table 1 (Con't)
                        Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1)
BCPs/
 
Year
Kai Tak Cruise Terminal
(Note 8)
West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ( Note 9) Harbour Control Hung Hom
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 -- -- -- -- 850 817 4,456 4,715
2011 -- -- -- -- 1,012 982 5,286 5,410
2012 -- -- -- -- 1,024 993 5,650 5,714
2013 583 594 -- -- 891 871 6,070 6,129
2014 1,918 1,930 -- -- 90 71 6,160 6,118
2015 2,269 2,294 -- -- 96 66 5,753 5,797
2016 2,201 2,232 -- -- 87 64 5,297 5,314
2017 2,315 2,294 -- -- 83 67 5,294 5,270
2018 2,377 2,370 27,188 25,513 85 65 5,275 5,209
2019 2,187 2,158 23,144 22,698 83 58 2,696 2,755
2020
(Jan to Sep)
(Note 2)
248 248 1,749 1,812 86 66 193 203
 
Note 1: Figures in this table refer to all passenger trips passing through the BCPs excluding drivers and passengers who were refused landing.

Note 2: In response to the development of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has suspended passenger clearance services at most of BCPs by phases since end-January 2020:
  • West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Hung Hom, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, China Ferry Terminal and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal (with effect from January 30, 2020);
  • Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Lok Ma Chau and Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal (with effect from February 4, 2020); and
  • Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (with effect from the afternoon of February 5, 2020).

Note 3: According to the special arrangements by the HKSAR Government and Shenzhen Municipal Government, Secondary 3 to Secondary 5 cross-boundary students entered and exited Hong Kong via Shenzhen Bay Control Point or Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point during designated periods from Monday to Friday between June 15 and July 17, 2020 (except public holidays).

Note 4: Due to the reconstruction works at the passenger clearance area of the Shenzhen side of the Man Kam To Control Point, only cross-boundary goods vehicles, cross-boundary students and limited cross-boundary coaches were allowed to use the Man Kam To Control Point starting from February 22, 2010.  Upon completion of the works, it resumed full operation on August 26, 2013.

Note 5: Officially commissioned on October 24, 2018.

Note 6: The Heung Yuen Wai BCP commenced operation on August 26, 2020, with only cargo clearance service available at this stage (i.e. no passenger clearance service for the time being).

Note 7: The operation of Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal Control Point was suspended from December 16, 2010 to April 14, 2011 and from July 1, 2012 to January 27, 2016.

Note 8: The first berth of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was officially commissioned on June 12, 2013.  The number of arrivals also included passengers of cruise liners berthing at other anchorages, as well as passengers on board Hong Kong-based passenger liners running regular daily high seas trips.

Note 9: Officially commissioned on September 23, 2018.  In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, the services have been suspended since January 30, 2020.

     ImmD does not maintain other breakdown statistics mentioned in the question.

(3) and (4) According to the information provided by C&ED and the HZMB Authority (applicable to HZMB Hong Kong Port), the average daily number of cross-boundary vehicular trips using the following road-based BCPs in the past ten years is as follows:
 
                                               Table 2
                          Average Daily Number of Cross-boundary Vehicular Trips (Note 1)
Road-based BCPs/


 
Year
Man Kam To Sha Tau Kok Lok Ma Chau
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 2 383 2 230 1 050 1 212 14 249 13 199
2011 2 161 2 073 1 142 1 287 13 819 12 764
2012 2 092 2 086 1 177 1 314 13 498 12 378
2013 2 172 2 195 1 251 1 391 13 295 12 241
2014 2 380 2 382 1 025 1 165 12 776 11 976
2015 2 415 2 479 1 065 1 187 12 470 11 761
2016 2 408 2 452 1 037 1 200 12 119 11 607
2017 2 573 2 501 1 096 1 324 12 076 11 637
2018 2 297 2 272 1 067 1 246 11 283 11 006
2019 2 158 2 075 1 001 1 163 10 179 10 064
2020
(Jan to Oct)
(Note 3)
1 669 1 435 373 547 4 646 4 776
 
 
                                            Table 2(Con't)
                           Average Daily Number of Cross-boundary Vehicular Trips (Note 1)
Road-based BCPs/




Year
Shenzhen Bay HZMB
Hong Kong Port
Heung Yuen Wai (Note 2)
Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound
2010 3 862 4 932 -- -- -- --
2011 4 271 5 258 -- -- -- --
2012 4 477 5 416 -- -- -- --
2013 4 581 5 461 -- -- -- --
2014 4 668 5 303 -- -- -- --
2015 4 823 5 316 -- -- -- --
2016 5 606 5 899 -- -- -- --
2017 6 216 6 496 -- -- -- --
2018 6 537 6 645 1 725 1 769 -- --
2019 6 332 6 341 2 069 2 098 -- --
2020
(Jan to Oct)
(Note 3)
2 586 2 450 452 450 42 231

Note 1: The figures include cross-boundary goods vehicles, private cars, shuttle buses, and coaches.

Note 2: The Heung Yuen Wai BCP commenced operation on August 26, 2020, with only cargo clearance service available at this stage (i.e. no passenger clearance service for the time being).

Note 3: The figures for January to October 2020 are provisional only.
 
     C&ED does not maintain other breakdown statistics mentioned in the question.
      
     The design capacity and daily average vehicular flow in 2019 of Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Heung Yuen Wai Highway (part of which being Lung Shan Tunnel) and HZMB Hong Kong Link Road are as follows:
 
                                                 Table 3
  Shenzhen Bay Bridge Heung Yuen Wai Highway
(Note 3)
HZMB Hong Kong Link Road
Design Capacity (vehicle/ hour) Southbound Northbound Southbound Northbound To Hong Kong To Zhuhai/Macao
4 700 4 700 3 000 3 000 4 700 4 700
Average Daily Number of Vehicular Trips in 2019 9 450
(Note 1 and 2)
9 680
(Note 1 and 2)
6 210
(Note 1)
7 330
(Note 1)
2 069
(Note 4)
2 098
(Note 4)

Note 1: Based on the traffic flow statistics of the Annual Traffic Census.  The most updated statistics are as in 2019.

Note 2: Including non-cross-boundary vehicles using the road section, for example, franchised buses, green minibuses, taxis as well as vehicles of BCP and its staff.

Note 3: The Heung Yuen Wai Highway was commissioned on May 26, 2019, whereas the Heung Yuen Wai BCP was open for use of cross-boundary cargo clearance on August 26, 2020. 

Note 4: The source of information is the HZMB Authority.  The Transport Department does not maintain statistics of the vehicular flow of HZMB Hong Kong Link Road.  The above figures were the average daily number of vehicular flow of HZMB in 2019, thus that of non-cross boundary vehicles was not included.

(5) According to the Security Bureau, before the commissioning of the Shenzhen Bay Port, the HKSAR Government paid a one-off land development cost to the Shenzhen Municipal Government.  The cost was about RMB 1,537 million. 

     The land usage cost of the Hong Kong Port Area is tabulated below:
 
                                            Table 4
Dates Annual land usage cost (RMB) *
From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2017 6,234,810
From July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019 8,105,253
From July 1, 2019 1,000

* Denotes total land usage cost.  Land usage cost is equally shared between ImmD and C&ED.  The charging votes for ImmD and C&ED are Head 70 and Head 31 respectively.

(6) According to the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism" under the "Supplemental Service Concession Agreement" for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) signed between the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), KCRC and MTRCL shall share the upside gain and downside risk if the deviation of the actual annual patronage from the projected level is beyond 15 per cent.  Since the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of XRL on September 23, 2018, the patronage of XRL has been increasing progressively, bringing in stable fare revenues to MTRCL.  Even in the second half of 2019 where patronage was affected by the dominance of public order events in Hong Kong, the patronage has not touched the lower limit under the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism", therefore neither the Government nor KCRC have made any payment to MTRCL in this regard since the commissioning of the Hong Kong section of XRL. 

     To prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Section of XRL has suspended service since January 30, 2020.  There is currently no scheduled date for service resumption.  As the Hong Kong section of XRL has been suspended for more than nine months, the preliminary estimation is that KCRC will have to bear part of the risk according to the mechanism.  KCRC and MTRCL will confirm in due course whether the actual patronage in 2020 has triggered the lower limit under the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism" and discuss the related payment arrangements.

(7) The direct and indirect economic benefits of HZMB and its connecting roads have been assessed at the feasibility study stage of the relevant works.  Direct economic benefits included savings in transport costs, value of time saved for travellers, induced traffic volume generated between the three territories, and value of time saved for goods on road.  Since the commissioning of HZMB, there is a significant reduction in relevant travelling time between Hong Kong and the western Pearl River Delta (PRD) for people and goods.  For example, the travelling time between Zhuhai and the Hong Kong International Airport has been reduced from four hours to 45 minutes; and the travelling time between Zhuhai and the Kwai Chung Container Terminal has been reduced from three and a half hours to 75 minutes, which bring direct economic benefits to Hong Kong.  As regards the indirect economic benefits, the HZMB Hong Kong Port, situated at Lantau Island and adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport, is the geographical converging point of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao.  Coupled with the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), we anticipate that HZMB will play an important function of fostering the smooth flow of people, capital, technology, and so forth within western PRD and GBA.

     The HZMB Main Bridge is located within the Mainland waters and the HZMB Authority was established pursuant to the Mainland laws as a non-profit-making public institution legal person to be responsible for the construction, operation, management and maintenance (including financial matters) of the HZMB Main Bridge.  The HZMB Authority is operated on a self-financed basis.  According to the territoriality principle and the agreement of the governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao, the HZMB Authority collects tolls from vehicles using the HZMB Main Bridge (the Toll Plaza is situated in the Mainland) in accordance with the laws of the Mainland to repay the bank loan and meet the expenses of the daily operation and maintenance of the HZMB.  The toll income is not received by the HKSAR Government.  It is not appropriate for the HKSAR Government to disclose relevant financial information of HZMB unilaterally.  The governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao will monitor the operation of HZMB and continue to work closely to explore refinement proposals and press ahead various new cross-boundary transport measures for better utilising HZMB, taking into account the capacity of the respective ports and connecting roads.
 
Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Issued at HKT 19:15
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