'Huanggang crossings almost double those of before'

The new Huanggang Port is handling nearly double the number of travelers compared to the old crossing, according to Chris Tang, Secretary for Security. Since its opening almost a week ago, operations at the crossing have been running smoothly in the lead-up to the Chung Yeung Festival travel peak. From Monday to Thursday, around 80,000 travelers used the crossing daily, with more than 90,000 people - specifically 92,000 - crossing on Friday alone.

This represents about a 1.5 times increase compared to the old crossing, which used to handle around 30,000 to 40,000 travelers.

Despite the surge in travelers, the average border crossing under the co-location arrangement, featuring a "collaborative inspection and joint clearance" model, remains quick, taking less than five minutes on average. Over 300,000 people have registered for the automated channels on the Immigration Department's mobile app since its launch on October 6.

The number of people crossing at the Lo Wu and Lok Ma Chau Spur Line checkpoints has decreased slightly by three to seven percent, as some travelers prefer the Huanggang Port option.

With the start of the Chung Yeung Festival long weekend on Saturday, Tang anticipates daily crossings at Huanggang to exceed 100,000 during the three-day period. Authorities have made preparations for the possible increase in passenger flows, ensuring sufficient manpower to fully open all channels - both automated and manual - at any given time. Tang emphasized that authorities have also increased manpower deployments at Huanggang Port's public transport interchange to prevent congestion during the festival period.