Macao channel to quicken border customs clearance

Construction of the Guangdong-Macao New Channel Port is to begin soon. Updated details of the regulatory plan were published recently on the Zhuhai Housing & Urban-Rural Planning & Construction Bureau website.

The project covers more than 40,000 sq m with floorage of 65,000 sq m. Building heights will be restricted to 60 m. The project includes a 19-storey Macao border checkpoint, 12-storey Zhuhai border crossing inspection, and support facilities. They will be constructed on stilts with a more than 400 m corridor above the Yachong River.

The area, labeled "Zhuhai Xiangzhou Gongbei Area A104a01 Administrative Unit" in the plans, is east of Yuehai International Garden residential community, west of the Macao border, and south of Zhuhai Railway Station.

Zhuhai Railway Station [Photo courtesy Zhuhai Daily]

According to staff at the bureau on July 14, the project was put forward by Macao and approved by the State Council. It will help implement the "One Country, Two Systems" policy and promote cooperation between Guangdong and Macao. Moreover, it will relieve the pressure of customs clearance at Gongbei Port.

An exit at the Guangdong-Macao New Channel will connect Zhuhai Railway Station seamlessly with current travel networks. The project also calls for a new customs clearance model -- Cooperative inspection for single pass -- to increase efficiency.