A number of measures are in place to further increase the Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point's (HYW BCP) overall handling capacity, Secretary for Security Tang Ping-keung said at the Legislative Council today.

As at September 2024, the HYW BCP recorded a daily average of about 70,000 cross-boundary passenger trips, and during weekends and public holidays, a daily average of over 80,000 cross-boundary passenger trips.

Responding to lawmaker Chan Yuet-ming’s questions, Mr Tang said the Immigration Department has set up 10 additional mobile counters in the HYW BCP passenger arrival hall, and completed the enhancement works to replace some of the traditional counters with e-Channels, thereby increasing the total number of e-Channels in the arrival hall from 14 to 18.

During festive periods or long holidays, relevant government departments will minimise leave for frontline officers, operate additional counters and channels, and deploy more security guards to assist in crowd management, he added.

Thanks to the above measures, citizens at the HYW BCP can complete immigration clearance in a few minutes during non-peak periods of ordinary days, while the process can be done within 15 minutes for most of the time during weekends and festive peak periods, Mr Tang further explained.

The security chief also revealed that since the commissioning of the passenger clearance service in February 2023, there were only four occasions during long holidays on which the average waiting time exceeded 15 minutes, however, it did not exceed 30 minutes on such occasions.

As regards parking spaces at the control point, Mr Tang noted that the Government Property Agency is currently enhancing the online pre-booking system by allowing users to reserve parking spaces half an hour prior to entry. This enhancement is expected to take place in end-2024 or early 2025.