The East Car Park at the border checkpoint of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau (HKZM) Bridge will have a capacity of 3,000 spaces for Macau-bound drivers of Hong Kong-registered cars, according to a regulation published in the Official Gazette (BO) yesterday.
The regulation was signed by Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai On.
The East Car Park will be for users of Hong Kong-registered cars that have not been registered under a regular quota initiative announced by the Macau government last week – 300 permits will be issued for Hong Kong-registered cars to enter Macau.
The Macau government announced last week that 600 permits will be issued for Macau-registered cars to travel to and from Hong Kong, under a regular quota initiative, once the HKZM Bridge – colloquially known as delta bridge – opens.
Among the 600 permits under the cross-border initiative, a total of 500 will be valid for one year, while the other 100 will have a six-month validity.
The regular quota for Hong Kong-registered cars entering Macau via the delta bridge has been set at 300 permits, each with a three-year validity.
According to the announcement last week, Macau- and Hong Kong-bound vehicles registered under the regular quota initiative by the two sides will have unlimited access to the respective special administrative region within the validity period of the relevant permit.
Once the bridge is operational, Macau-bound drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles that have not been registered under the regular quota initiative will be given the option to apply to join a transit scheme, according to the announcement last week.
Under the transit scheme, drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles wishing to drive to – but not into – Macau via the bridge will be required to register in advance and reserve a space in the Macau-administered East Car Park, according to the announcement last week.
The car park lies at the eastern end of the man-made island where Macau’s HKZM Bridge border checkpoint is located.
Motorists driving Hong Kong vehicles registered under the transit scheme will not be permitted to drive directly into Macau. They must enter Macau from the East Car Park using public transport, last week’s announcement said.
According to the regulation published yesterday, Hong Kongregistered cars will be charged 180 patacas per session (a session lasts for 12 hours). Cars that are parked for less than 12 hours are counted as a session – so they will also be charged 180 patacas.
According to the regulation, a day is divided into two sessions – one from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the other from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next day.
According to the regulation, drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles wishing to use the East Car Park will be required to make the reservation for a parking space 30 days in advance at the earliest and 12 hours at the latest prior to parking their cars in the car park.
According to the regulation, Hong Kong vehicles can be parked in the East Car Park for a maximum of eight consecutive days (16 sessions).
According to the regulation, the users will be charged an additional 270 patacas per session (or the length of time that lasts for less than a session of 12 hours) if their vehicles have been parked exceeding the reserved time slots in the East Car Park.
Various types of vehicles are barred from using the East Car Park, such as vehicles for more than 9 seated passengers including the driver; vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes; vehicles with a height exceeding 2 metres; and vehicles transporting potentially dangerous items such as toxic and inflammable products, according to the regulation.
According to the regulation, the car park will be closed one hour after the hoisting of the No. 8 typhoon warning signal or the issuing of the Level 3 (black) storm surge warning.
In addition to the East Car Park, there will also be another car park at Macau’s HKZM Bridge border checkpoint – the West Car Park for drivers of Macau-registered vehicles.
According to a regulation published in the gazette last month, the West Car Park will have a capacity of 5,143 spaces – comprising 3,089 for cars and 2,054 for motorcycles and scooters.
In the West Car Park, cars will be charged six patacas per hour during the day (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and three patacas per hour during the night. Motorcycles and scooters will be charged two patacas per hour during the day and one pataca per hour during the night.
According to unconfirmed media reports, the delta bridge could open to traffic as early as in the second quarter of this year.
This photo taken in December shows the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau (HKZM) Bridge, colloquially known as delta bridge. Photo: Xinhua
