The revamped Huanggang border checkpoint, which will adopt a “collaborative inspection and joint clearance” model, is set to relaunch when local legislation and Beijing’s approval are finalised, Hong Kong’s leader has said. An artist’s impression of the new Huanggang port. Photo: IDA Design Awards. Chief Executive John Lee told the press on Wednesday that the government is seeking to reboot the Huanggang Port “as early as possible” after Beijing reviews relevant the bill and the legislature completes local legislation, Now TV reported .
Lee was asked by reporters about the progress of the project when he accompanied Beijing’s top official on Hong Kong affairs, Xia Baolong, on an inspection tour of the port on Wednesday.
Lee said that, while the new building was complete, the checkpoint is now undergoing interior renovation: “[G]overnments on both sides are working tirelessly to conduct tests and drills.”
Years-long revamp
Hong Kong and Shenzhen authorities started to reconstruct Huanggang Port, on the western side of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong border, in 2019. A view of the border between Hong Kong and the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen, taken from a rural area in Hong Kong’s New Territories. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP. Security chief Chris Tang said in 2024 that the revamped port will adopt a “joint clearance” measure, which will reduce clearance time from 30 minutes to five minutes.
Tang said the arrangement meant that outbound and inbound visitors would only have to queue once to have their documents inspected and their identities verified, with automatic counters of both sides “set up side by side within their respective jurisdiction at the boundary.”
China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported that the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress will hold a meeting in Beijing next week.
The agenda includes a motion to review a draft decision on authorising Hong Kong to exercise jurisdiction over the Hong Kong Port Area on the Chinese side and its related extended areas.
According to a document submitted to the legislature in March, the Hong Kong government will also legislate to declare the area as being under the city’s jurisdiction. An artist’s impression of the new Huanggang Port. Photo: IDA Design Awards. The Shenzhen government is bearing the design and construction costs of the entire redevelopment of the crossing, while Hong Kong is bearing the costs of renovation and equipment for the Hong Kong Port Area.
The legislature allocated around HK$1.67 billion for the project. Hong Kong will pay Shenzhen a token rent of HK$1,000 per year.