The State Council has approved the Macao Special Administrative Region’s (SAR’s) jurisdictional oversight of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao (HKZM) Bridge boundary crossing area serving Macao.
As such, the control point is governed by Macao laws, starting after the stroke of midnight this morning (Thursday).
During a ceremony to mark the fact, the Guangdong Government presented a scale model of the artificial island of the Bridge to Macao officials. The ceremony was held at midnight at the lobby of the customs clearance building at the new boundary crossing facilities.
The Border Control Bureau of the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Department and the Macao Customs Service each dispatched a team of 30 officers to join a guard of honour ceremony.
After the ceremony, a number of Government departments took possession of facilities at the Macao boundary crossing area, in order to perform their duties regarding maintenance of boundary security and public safety.
The departments included: the Macao Customs Service; the Public Security Police Force; the Fire Services Bureau; the Judiciary Police; the Health Bureau and the Transport Bureau.
In preparation for the launch of the Bridge, which spans the Pearl River Delta, installation of equipment is in progress at the customs clearance building and the vehicle clearance facilities.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, spanning the Lingding channel of the Pearl River Estuary, is a major new link between the Hong Kong SAR, Zhuhai Prefecture of Guangdong Province and the Macao SAR.
The Bridge aims to address the growing demand for cross-boundary transportation between Hong Kong, the mainland (particularly via the communities of the west bank of the Pearl River in Guangdong Province), and Macao. The road link also connects Hong Kong and Macao to Guangdong cities on the east bank of the Pearl River.
The Bridge has a main section of 29.6 kilometres in length, including an underwater tunnel approximately 6.7 kilometres long and two artificial islands; it has a 3-lane carriageway in each direction. The main section of the Bridge links the respective boundary crossing facilities for Zhuhai and Macao to the artificial island located west of the Hong Kong SAR boundary.
The launch of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is to advance further economic integration of cities in the Pearl River Delta rea.