An inspection of the new Hengqin Checkpoint will be conducted by Dec 20 -- the 20th anniversary date of Macao's return to the motherland – before it opens to cut customs clearance time to less than 60 seconds with a "Joint Inspection & One-Time Release" mode between Zhuhai and Macao.

Currently, the Joint-Inspection Building is experiencing debugging of audio-video equipment, trial operation of electronic gates, inspection of hard decorations, and last-minute finalizations of soft decorations.

Zhuhai and Macao will announce the opening date of the major cross-border project after relevant policies gain approval and legal procedures are completed, according to Wang Yan, deputy director of the Development & Reform Bureau of the Hengqin New Area Administrative Committee.

Hengqin Checkpoint [Photo by Li Jianshu / Zhuhai Daily]

Situated between the current checkpoint and University of Macao's Hengqin Campus on the Haojiang River, the new facility is to become the most advanced, intelligent, and modern checkpoint of its kind in the country, and to further advance both the opening-up of Hengqin and moderate economic diversification of Macao.

The Joint-Inspection Building and transport platforms on both of sides cover 450,000 sq m (111 acres), which is equivalent to 63 football fields. The first floor, equipped with 53 self-service, six staffed, and four jointly staffed inspection channels, is for travelers exiting Zhuhai for Macao. The second floor is for entry to Zhuhai, and has 43 self-service, seven staffed, and four jointly staffed inspection channels.

Once the new checkpoint opens, Macao-bound passengers only need to queue up and have documents examined once. Zhuhai and Macao customs clearance authorities will share inspection results so that those with no abnormal data will be released directly.

For self-service clearance via e-channels, three gates must be passed for examination of travel permits to Macao, fingerprint identification and facial recognition, and information verification and voucher claims.

Unlike the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the new Hengqin Checkpoint not only applies the inspection mode to Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan passengers, but also to coaches and freight channels.

At present, Lotus and Hengqin checkpoints require separate customs clearance inspections and the entire clearance and shuttle time between the two takes 40 to 50 minutes.