Prisca Tang
The new Qingmao pedestrian border checkpoint will be opening next Wednesday, and Public Security Police (PSP) Land Border Control Division Acting Chief Wong Kei Fong said yesterday that it will only take about 20-21 seconds for a person to cross immigration using the e-channel.
Wong made the remarks yesterday during a media tour at the soon-to-be-opened Qingmao pedestrian border.
The Qingmao checkpoint in Ilha Verde will be a land-border crossing for pedestrians only, the first of its kind in Macau.
A joint Macau-mainland immigration and customs clearance system officially known as “joint inspection and one-time release” will be adopted at the Qingmao checkpoint – a 24/7 operation – where travellers will be required to pass border controls only once when completing their departure and arrival formalities.
Wong said that if the e-channel faces technical difficulties, the checkpoint will implement a manual system instead, adding that the Macau side will have 10 manual counters to assist border crossers. Wong told reporters that according to official data, around 60-70 percent of Barrier Gate checkpoint border crossers prefer to use the e-channels. He pointed out that the new checkpoint could help divert 100,000 to 150,000 people from the Barrier Gate. He underlined that the new checkpoint will make arrangements according to the number of people using it at any one time.
Meanwhile, Transport Bureau (DSAT) Transport Management Division Chief Ho Chan Tou told reporters that next to the new Qingmao pedestrian border there are five public car parks and six bus stops from which Macau’s two public bus operators will be providing 16 routes.
He said that the daily number of passengers using the 16 routes was expected to rise by 30,000 to 35,000, adding that 20 percent of the Barrier Gate’s users could be diverted as well. The ground floor of the checkpoint is a vehicle drop-off zone, while the first floor is a taxi pick-up zone which can accommodate 22 taxis. Ho said that no vehicle can stay longer than 10 minutes at the drop-off zone, or else they would face a fine. Therefore, he suggested residents should use public transport.
The whole Qingmao checkpoint project – including the Zhuhai-side checkpoint building – has been paid for by the Macau government, with the Guangdong government providing all the necessary support tasks.
The Macau government hired Guangdong Nam Yue Group Corporation Limited – which is owned by the Guangdong provincial government – to carry out the whole project, which got off the ground in 2018 and was completed in May this year.
The Qingmao checkpoint project has cost the local government around five billion patacas.
This photo taken yesterday shows the exterior of the new Qingmao checkpoint which opens next Wednesday.
This photo taken yesterday shows e-channels at the Macau side and a manual counter next to the e-channels at the Qingmao pedestrian border checkpoint. Photos: Prisca Tang
