The new Hengqin Port between Macau and Zhuhai opened on Tuesday, providing a larger and more efficient checkpoint for people to travel between the two jurisdictions.
Macau SAR Chief Executive, Ho Iat Seng, said at the opening ceremony that the opening of the Hengqin Port would provide fresh opportunities for closer cooperation between Macau and Guangdong Province. He emphasized that the checkpoint could facilitate the movement of people and goods between Macau and Zhuhai and promote further infrastructure projects.
As recently reported by Inside Asian Gaming, the checkpoint will operate 24/7 with a “joint boundary control system,“ boosting annual capacity to 80 million people with daily capacity of around 222,000 people – roughly double the total visitation to Macau in 2019 of 39.4 million.
The original Lotus Checkpoint in Macau’s Cotai and the old Hengqin checkpoint with vehicle lanes to Macau have now all moved to the new Hengqin checkpoint, although vehicle lanes from Macau to Hengqin will remain at the current checkpoint until the second phase of construction is completed next year.
The second phase will also include a bridge linking to Macau University, while the third phase will add a reserved area linking to Macau’s light rail system.
The Governor of Guangdong Province, Ma Xingrui, said the new Hengqin Port was a benchmark project in the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA).
The first phase of the new Zhuhai Urban to Zhuhai Airport Intercity Railway also launched on Tuesday, linking Zhuhai city center, Wanzai and Hengqin. Its second phase will connect Hengqin with Zhuhai Airport, allowing the new Hengqin checkpoint to link the Guangzhou-Zhuhai Intercity Railway with Macau’s Light Rail Transit system.
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