24-hour border crossing from midnight

Relevant arrangements are in place for the extended operating hours of all three land borders connecting Macau and Zhuhai, local authorities have announced. At the main border gate that connects to Gongbei area in Zhuhai, the opening hours of the border have been extended from 7:00am-midnight to 6:00am-1:00am. Twenty e-channels have been added to the west side of the departure lobby, and 14 more have been added to the west side of the arrival lobby as well. Immigration officer Wong Kin Hong said that the new e-channels in the departure hall will be dedicated to Macau residents while the other 40 existing ones will be allocated to non-resident workers and registered tourists. The new e-channels in the arrival hall will mainly open during the morning for non-resident workers in order to cope with the high amount of traffic during rush hour. He believes that the measure will help channel people and lower the pressure of the peak border crossing time. Some separators have also been added in front of the escalators to prevent people carrying large suitcases or baby carriages from using them for safety reasons. At the Cotai Border, where one spends MOP3 or RMB3 to take the shuttle bus and cross the Lotus Bridge to reach Hengqin Island in Zhuhai, operating hours will be extended to 24 hours. All Macau residents, non-resident workers and tourists can cross the border at anytime. Cargo inspection lanes, however, retain the same opening hours, which is from 8:00am-8:00pm. Ku King Hin, vice police affairs chief of the immigration department of the Public Security Force says 40 additional officers have been deployed at this border, with the expected number of people using this border increased from the current 20,000-odd to between 50-60,000. Mr. Ku also said with regard to infrastructure and facilities that the authorities expect the existing ones will be able to cope with future conditions, hence no additional facilities have been added and they are already planning to build a new border checkpoint building at Cotai. No details have been decided yet, including the location. With regard to the Cross-Border Industrial Park border checkpoint, located in the northwest end of Macau Peninsula in Ilha Verde, some specific groups of people can use the border after midnight until 7:00am. These people include Macau residents, non-resident workers from the Mainland, and Mainland students studying in Macau. The border is exclusively for the use of people working in the cross-border industrial park, and they can continue to cross the border at any time using their special pass. Immigration officer Kei Wa Nao said that six e-channels have been added to each side of the border both in the departure and arrival halls. Separators have been set up on the arrival side in case large numbers of people want use the border to enter Macau after midnight. Ku King Hin said that they do not expect a drastic change in the number of people crossing the border and that the extended operating hours are for the convenience of the people using the borders to choose freely and cross at times of their own convenience. The officer added that they will keep a close eye on the border crossing situation and maintain close contact with the Zhuhai authorities, adjusting the facilities and personnel in a timely manner to cope with the change. Customs officers said staff have been deployed to report to duty when the border is open and any changes needed would be made in a timely fashion. The Transport Bureau will also adjust public transportation accordingly. Buses that travel to these borders will have their operating hours and frequency of shifts changed, while the shuttle bus crossing the Lotus Bridge connecting Cotai and Hengqin will run around the clock as well.