Immigration Department figures show that more than 160,000 Hong Kong residents had signed up for the new joint-clearance e-channels by noon on 10 October, two days before Huanggang Port replaces Lok Ma Chau as the city’s sole 24-hour land crossing. Assistant Director Jacky Wong said daily enrolments have averaged 18,000 since the HK e-Channel mobile app began accepting remote applications on 6 October. The surge prompted officials to double on-site registration counters at the port from 12 to 24 and to redeploy 60 immigration officers from airport duty this weekend. A command centre linking police, customs and the Transport Department will go live on Sunday night to monitor passenger flow. Analysts at consultancy B&R Mobility say the take-up rate is encouraging: assuming 60 percent of cross-boundary commuters enrol, the port could process 250,000 daily passengers at full capacity, reducing strain on the Shenzhen Bay and Shenzhen Rail crossings. Businesses with mainland supply chains are urged to remind unregistered travellers that conventional counters remain open but will likely attract longer queues. The Immigration Department plans public-education booths at major MTR stations through October. For context, 160,000 represents roughly one-third of daily pre-pandemic cross-boundary passenger volume, suggesting that most regular commuters have already opted into the faster biometric channel.
Source: South China Morning Post
