RTHK English

Southbound cars scheme opens for five more GBA cities

The government on Monday announced plans to expand a scheme that allows Guangdong residents to drive to Hong Kong to eventually cover the entire province. Starting July 25, five more Greater Bay Area (GBA) cities – Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou and Zhaoqing – will be included in the "Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles” arrangement, allowing approved vehicles entry into Hong Kong. Under the newly launched “Park & Visit” service, motorists from the province can leave their vehicles in automated car parks at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port and then enter urban areas in the SAR with local public transport. Applications open at 9am on July 16. Motorists can also apply for the existing “Park & Fly” service, under which they can park their vehicles and transfer directly to an overseas flight at Hong Kong International Airport without having to go through SAR immigration. This expansion means the southbound travel scheme will now cover nine mainland GBA cities. Officials said the target is to expand the scheme to all 21 Guangdong cities by the first quarter of next year. The daily quota of cars permitted to enter Hong Kong urban areas under the scheme will be doubled to 200, also starting July 25, but their stay will still be limited to three days. Officials stressed that the scheme has been operating in a smooth and orderly manner since its inception half a year ago. As of the end of last month, about 8,400 applications for entry into Hong Kong urban areas had been approved, with a total of 6,700 bookings made. Officials stressed that they had taken into account port operations, overall road traffic conditions, user feedback and public adaptation before making the expansion decision. In a statement, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan expressed gratitude to her Guangdong counterparts and the central government for facilitating the expansion of the scheme. “The SAR government will continue to take forward the southbound travel scheme, enabling the inflow of additional tourists from more mainland cities ... to help drive Hong Kong's economic growth, and promote the integrated development of Guangdong and Hong Kong to a new level," she said. The chairman of the Legislative Council's transport panel, Ben Chan, welcomed the decision to expand the scheme to cover more GBA cities. However, he said improvements can be made before expanding the scheme to the whole of Guangdong. “These factors include our city’s development, and whether there is an explicit growth in the number of parking spaces," Ben Chan said. "On the other hand, regarding our border checkpoint facilities, there are constant traffic jams at the Zhuhai port of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, especially during peak seasons. These facilities all need improvement.” Edited by Tony Sabine