Underutilized HZMB finds it difficult bridging the gap

Congestion concern

Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor conceded that not many Hong Kong cars were heading north by way of the bridge these days. She pointed out that a single major expressway links Hong Kong's downtown areas to Lantau Island, where both Hong Kong International Airport and an HZMB checkpoint are located.

On the sidelines of a press conference on Tuesday, Lam said her government is worried that if more local cars were granted access to the bridge, the only road to the airport – North Lantau Highway – would be easily congested.

"Our plan has always been that after the opening of the second expressway to Lantau Island – Tuen Mun–Chek Lap Kok Link – which I think can come into service at the end of this year, we can consider allowing more Hong Kong cars on the bridge," Lam said.

"There are technical problems that remain to be solved, such as whether the driver should be a holder of driving licenses of all three jurisdictions, whether the automobile insurance should be valid in all three jurisdictions … We will try to hammer out these arrangements as early as possible."

She, however, also noted that it is not feasible to allow more vehicles from the Chinese mainland to enter Hong Kong through the bridge, given Hong Kong's limited urban space.

In a Sept 9 reply to Cally Kwong Mei-wan, a Hong Kong deputy to China's top legislature National People's Congress, the Guangdong provincial government said there are about 78,000 vehicles in the province and Hong Kong eligible to use HZMB, and 90 percent of them are Hong Kong cars.

As per Hong Kong government data, 15,000 Hong Kong private vehicles have permits to go to Zhuhai and another 800 private cars to Macao.

A matter of quotas

Ryan Ip Man-ki, head of land and housing research at policy think tank Our Hong Kong Foundation, told China Daily in text messages that the daily traffic flow along HZMB would be likely to rise if the government were to increase the quota for private cars once the much-awaited Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link opens and eases the traffic pressure on the North Lantau Highway.

The HZMB quota criteria have long been criticized as too stringent. Eligible applicants must be high-tech investors, top academicians, politicians and philanthropists.

In the long run, Ip said cargo truck flow is very important, and thus developing integrated logistics nodes in strategic locations near HZMB, such as in Tuen Mun West and Lung Kwu Tan, would be an ideal solution.

Stanley Chaing Chi-wai, chairman of Lok Ma Chau China-Hong Kong Freight Association, blamed the weak flow of goods vehicles on Macao's poor customs infrastructure, a high eligibility threshold for a mainland automobile license and unreasonable two-way toll fees.

Speaking to China Daily over the phone, the logistics expert said that given the hurdles, many carriers choose to ship their goods by sea, while ordinary travelers, rather than driving private cars through the bridge, tend to use public transportation such as ferry.

Contrasting HZMB with the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, a free-of-charge sea crossing with border checkpoints linking Hong Kong with Shenzhen, Chaing suggested a blanket waiver of toll fees.

"For the Greater Bay Area's long-term development, the governments should not be hung up on an old mindset of 'cost-effectiveness' because the bridge can bring in tremendous economic benefits, far outweighing it operational cost," he said.