HK, Shenzhen sign Huanggang co-location agreement

Hong Kong and Shenzhen have signed an agreement to implement the co-location arrangement at the redeveloped Huanggang port.

The Hong Kong Port Area – which will be subject to the SAR's jurisdiction under its laws – will be established on Friday.

The port's official opening date is to be announced later.

Secretary for Security Chris Tang and Shenzhen Vice Mayor Luo Huanghao signed the agreement at the Central Government Offices on Thursday.

Tang said the signing of the deal marked an important milestone in the preparatory work for the port's opening.

"The HKSAR government will continue to work closely with the Shenzhen side to take forward various preparatory tasks in an orderly manner, including system testing and operational and emergency drills, to ensure that all facilities and operational arrangements at the port are sound and comprehensive," he said.

The redeveloped Huanggang port is positioned as the most important 24-hour passenger land boundary control point between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

Under the new co-location arrangement, which features collaborative inspection and joint customs clearance for travellers in a single stop, overall clearance time will be reduced from around 30 minutes to approximately five minutes.

The design flow of the redeveloped port will increase to 200,000 passenger trips per day, and could be further increased to about 300,000 upon the future commissioning of the MTR's Northern Link Spur Line.

In June, the National People's Congress Standing Committee authorised the SAR government to exercise jurisdiction over the Hong Kong Port Area at Huanggang port. The State Council earlier this month set the commissioning date for the port area on July 31, and Legco passed legislation relating to the co-location arrangement.

Edited by Edmond Fong ...