Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Shenzhen authorities jointly announced on Friday that the redeveloped Huanggang Port will open at 6:30 am on Monday, with officials expressing confidence in the new facility’s safe, efficient and smooth operation.

The port will provide 24-hour clearance services for passengers and passenger vehicles.

Huanggang Port will adopt the “collaborative inspection and joint clearance” model, with 134 self-service collaborative inspection channels and 68 staffed counters. It is designed to handle 200,000 passenger trips and 15,000 vehicle crossings daily.

Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang Ping-keung told the media on Friday that the Security Bureau’s Emergency Monitoring and Support Centre and a frontline command center will be activated on Monday to monitor passenger and vehicle flows, as well as surrounding traffic conditions, to ensure smooth operations.

The government has also set up a joint command center with Shenzhen port authorities to coordinate operations, Tang said. On-site volunteers will help passengers use the facilities and follow the procedures, he added.

Following extensive preparations, including stress tests involving the clearance of 20,000 passengers per hour, the port has demonstrated that it is able to comfortably handle peak passenger flows, Tang said.

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As of noon on Friday, over 160,000 residents had registered for the e-channel service since applications opened on Tuesday, Jacky Wong Ki, assistant director (control) of the Hong Kong Immigration Department, said at a crossdepartmental news conference.

Wong said he expects the number to grow after the port opens.

Wong said immigration officers will manage the initial surge in passenger and vehicle traffic to ensure smooth clearance, and will maintain a close liaison with Chinese mainland authorities to monitor travel flows.

Chiang Yi-lee, assistant commissioner (boundary and ports) of Hong Kong’s Customs and Excise Department, said a sufficient number of officers will be deployed at both the new port and the old Lok Ma Chau/Huanggang Control Point — which will cease operations at 6:30 am on Monday — to ensure a seamless transition.

She reminded drivers that Huanggang’s joint one-stop lanes will enable them to complete “five-party inspection” without leaving their vehicles. The systems simultaneously conduct body-temperature checks, scan travel-document data, and collect biometric features.

Officials also reminded the public to allow sufficient travel time.

For local transport connections, the new port will be linked to various districts across Hong Kong by seven franchised bus routes, six dedicated minibus routes, and five short-haul cross-boundary coach routes.

Asked whether the Transport Department would consider adding pickup and drop-off areas for licensed ride-hailing vehicles and private cars, Amy Tse Sen-yee, assistant commissioner for transport (New Territories), said the rebuilt Huanggang Port will retain the previous restricted-area management model, admitting only designated public transport vehicles.

Tse said that the department believes the current services can meet demand, adding that it will closely monitor operations after the port opens and optimize services based on demand.

Acknowledging public interest in trying out the new facility, as well as the possibility that travel agencies may route tour groups through Huanggang Port and include it in their itineraries, Tang suggested that residents without an urgent need to use the port defer their visits.

Timothy Chui Ting-pong, executive director of the Hong Kong Tourism Association, also advised travelers to wait a week or two for operations to settle.

Speaking to local media, Chui said several travel agencies were planning to route tour groups through the port into Shenzhen on Monday, after its opening. He said his own travel agency will send its first tour group through the port at the end of the month.

He expects a growing number of Hong Kong tour groups to use the new port within the next six to nine months.

Contact the writer at stacyshi@chinadailyhk.com