The Legislative Assembly (AL) today approved a draft bill that will define which areas of the future Hengqin Port will be under Macau SAR jurisdiction.
The bill will undergo evaluation under an AL committee, with Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon having previously indicated local authorities were aiming to finish legislative works in the first quarter of this year.
In October of last year, China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) approved the handover of the Henqgin lotus border checkpoint to Macau jurisdiction. The decision aims to simplify clearance at the two Lotus and Hengqin checkpoints, which currently require separate clearance by mainland and Macau authorities.
The new law proposal defines legal entry or exit routes from under Macau SAR jurisdiction at the new Henqgin checkpoint, with these areas to include the Lotus Flower Bridge, and a future new access bridge connecting the border post with the University of Macau, as well as the space reserved for a future extension of the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) line.
However, the exact areas of jurisdiction will be defined in the future through Chief Executive dispatch.
The proposal did not elicit many questions from legislators, with only some legislators expressing support to the measure but asking for more information on how exactly the customs clearance will be conducted in the checkpoint and on the exact area covered.
Legislator Au Kam San also criticized how could legislators be asked to inquire and comment on the future areas under Macau SAR legislation, if they only to be defined after the law is approved by CE dispatch.
“There is not even online information I can check. I only know the area will be no less than 160,000 square meters but where will that area be? To make a law we should at least know where this area will be and where the adjacent areas will be. I hope we can have a better idea during the committee meetings,” the legislator noted.
The new Hengqin port is expected to handle 222,000 daily passenger crossings, up from 25,300 currently, and the daily vehicle crossings will increase from about 2,700 to more than 7,000.
The new border will also adapt a joint inspection system so that passengers and vehicles only need to be checked once.
