At a ceremony on 11 October, Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee joined Guangdong and Shenzhen leaders to mark the completion of the six-year Huanggang Port redevelopment. Lee said the project embodies “hard connectivity” in infrastructure and “soft connectivity” of rules, bringing the cross-boundary flow of people to a new level. The port’s co-location arrangement aligns with goals set in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan and Hong Kong’s first local Five-Year Plan released last month. Lee noted the terminal’s 24-hour passenger clearance and five-minute processing will support deeper labour-market integration within the Greater Bay Area, where some 86 000 Hong Kong residents already commute to Shenzhen for work. The ceremony was attended by senior officials from the National Immigration Administration and General Administration of Customs, underscoring central government support. The Chief Executive urged businesses to seize opportunities created by the upgraded corridor, highlighting forthcoming rail links that will connect the port directly to Hong Kong’s Northern Metropolis and Shenzhen’s Qianhai zone. He pledged continued collaboration with Guangdong to modernise other boundary control points and develop a unified “Greater Bay Area Travel Card” to further ease mobility. Policy analysts say the high-profile opening strengthens Hong Kong’s narrative as an indispensable gateway in China’s opening-up. For multinational firms, faster physical connectivity complements recent digital initiatives—such as the NIA’s electronic border-permit scheme—to create a more seamless operating environment across the delta region.
Source: news.gov.hk
