Western Corridor to open on July 1
By Teddy Ng (HK Edition)

The 5.5-kilometer-long Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor will be open for public and vehicular traffic on July 1 to mark the SAR's 10th anniversary. It will start operation at 6 pm on Sunday.

The Western Corridor, which comprises the Shenzhen Bay Port and Shenzhen Bay Bridge, links up Shekou with Ngau Hom Shek in the northwest New Territories.

Passengers can cross the boundary through the new crossing by taking cross-boundary coaches, franchised buses, green minibuses or taxis.

Authorities had received applications from about 5,000 truck and 1,100 private vehicle drivers to use the new expressway to cross the border, it was revealed yesterday.

Assistant Commissioner for Transport Cindy Law said permit was required for vehicles using the corridor.

Authorities in Hong Kong and Guangdong had reached a consensus that 1,500 permits for private vehicle would be issued in the first three months of operation. Authorities had received 1,100 applications from private vehicle drivers.

Law said about 5,000 truck drivers had applied to Guangdong authorities to use the corridor.

She said the burden on other border checkpoints, including Lok Ma Chau, would be reduced after the opening of the corridor.

"We believe that the traffic of Lok Ma Chau can be diverted. It will be more convenient using the corridor while travelling between northwest New Territories and western Shenzhen and Guangzhou," she said.

Law said two franchised bus routes from Yuen Long and Tuen Mun would be provided, which cost HK$11 per trip. One green minibus route from Tin Shui Wai, costing HK$9.5 per trip, would also be provided.

The border will be opened from 6:30 am to 12 midnight each day. The decision to keep the border open for 24 hours will be taken by the authorities in Hong Kong and the mainland after the opening.

Law said roads leading to the port will be closed 30 minutes before it ceased operation each day.

Assistant Commissioner for Transport To Kam-biu said the corridor would be closed if wind speed exceed 65 kilometers per hour (kph).

He said wind speed exceeding 65 kph only happened once a year on average, and happened four times in 1999.

Under the co-location arrangement at the new control point, coach passengers will only have to get on and off once instead of twice in going through clearance procedures of the two sides, shortening the clearance time by about five to 10 minutes for each traveller.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen are making final preparations for the commissioning of the Shenzhen Bay Port and Shenzhen Bay Bridge.

(HK Edition 06/26/2007 page6)