Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng paid a working visit to Hengqin yesterday to attend the second meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone, where he also attended a ground-breaking ceremony for a construction project to build “second-tier” customs facilities which will be tasked with clearance procedures between Hengqin and elsewhere in the mainland, a signing ceremony for 12 investment projects, and an unveiling ceremony for four community projects.
The Macau Government Information Bureau (GCS) made the announcement about Ho’s one-day trip to Hengqin in a statement last night.
According to the statement, the chief executive went to Hengqin yesterday afternoon with four of his five policy secretaries, namely Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong Weng Chon, Secretary for Economy and Finance Lei Wai Nong, Secretary for Security Wong Sio Chak, and Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture Elsie Ao Ieong U.
According to the General Plan of the Development of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin, the administrative committee for the cooperation zone is run under a dual director system, jointly led by Guangdong’s governor and Macau’s chief executive, with a permanent deputy director appointed by the Macau government, and other deputy directors appointed through negotiation between Guangdong and Macau.
Ho, Guangdong Governor Ma Xingrui, and other top officials of the committee attended yesterday afternoon’s ground-breaking ceremony for the “second-tier” customs facilities.
Delivering a speech during the ceremony, Lei, who is one of the two secretary-generals of the cooperation zone’s administrative committee, noted that the general plan clearly requires “the construction of a new high-standard and open system that integrates with Macau in the cooperation zone”, adding that one measure to achieve the objective is to “promote goods movements [between Macau, Hengqin and elsewhere in the mainland] under the principle of first-tier loose administrative control and second-tier strict customs control”.
According to yesterday’s GCS statement, the “second-tier” customs facilities are scheduled to be completed by the end of June next year.
‘Movement of factors of resources’
Lei said that the “second-tier” customs facilities will “promote the movement of factors of resources between Macau and the cooperation zone in an effective, easy and safe manner”, according to the GCS statement.
In economics, there are three main factors of resources – land, labour and capital.
According to the general plan – which was announced by the central government in early September, the scope of the cooperation zone covers the customs supervision territory between the “first-tier” and “second-tier” subzones on Hengqin island, occupying a total area of 106 square kilometres. The area that lies between Hengqin and Macau is regarded as the “first-tier” subzone, while the area that lies between Hengqin and other areas within the customs territory of the People’s Republic of China is regarded as the “second-tier” subzone.
According to yesterday’s GCS statement, the “second-tier” customs facilities that have now got off the ground will be built in seven locations on Hengqin island, covering a gross area of 245,400 square metres, with a price tag of 597 million yuan.
Yesterday’s GCS statement did not mention details about the second meeting of the Administrative Committee of the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone, merely saying that Ho travelled to Hengqin to attend the meeting.
Investment & community projects
After attending the ground-breaking ceremony, the GCS statement said, Ho and Ma went to a hotel to attend a signing ceremony for 12 investment projects, and an unveiling ceremony for four community projects.
According to the statement, the 12 business projects, four of them invested by Macau companies or businesspeople, will cover areas such as integrated circuits, electronic information, biomedicine, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), big health, and modern finance.
“Big health” has been defined by mainland planners as a full suite of health services that cover the entire care continuum.
The four community projects that were unveiled yesterday are an experimental school run by Beijing’s Capital Normal University, a family activity centre, a training base for health and medical services, and a demonstration post for domestic service, according to the statement.
Macau Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng (eighth from right), Guangdong Governor Ma XingRui (eighth from left), and other top officials from the two regions break ground on a project to build “second-tier” customs facilities in the Guangdong-Macau In-depth Cooperation Zone in Hengqin yesterday. Photo: GCS
