LCQ18: Immigration-related transport infrastructure facilities
**************************************************************
Question:
Regarding the immigration-related transport infrastructure facilities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) at the time when it sought funding approval for the construction of various immigration control points and shipping control points (collectively referred to as control points), of the estimated average daily passenger throughputs and the relevant totals of the control points concerned in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year), of their commissioning (set out in tables of the same format as Table 1);
Table 1
Name of control point and the year of commissioning:
| Year after commissioning |
Estimated average daily passenger throughput | ||
| Inbound | Outbound | Total | |
| First year | |||
| Sixth year | |||
| ... | |||
| 31st year | |||
(2) in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year but not later than last year), of the commissioning of the various control points, of the average passenger throughputs of the relevant control points in the morning and afternoon of each day as well as the whole day and the relevant totals (set out in tables of the same format as Table 2);
Table 2
Name of control point:
| Year after commissioning |
Average daily passenger throughput | ||||||||
| Morning | Afternoon | Whole day | |||||||
| Inbound | Outbound | Total | Inbound | Outbound | Total | Inbound | Outbound | Total | |
| First year | |||||||||
| Sixth year | |||||||||
| ... | |||||||||
| 31st year | |||||||||
(3) at the time when it sought funding approval for the construction of some control points (i.e. Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, Lok Ma Chau, Shenzhen Bay, and Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai) and the roads connecting the control points (i.e. Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Hong Kong Link Road, Lung Shan Tunnel, and Heung Yuen Wai Highway), of the estimated average daily south-bound and north-bound traffic volumes and the relevant totals of the facilities concerned in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year), of their commissioning (set out in tables of the same format as Table 3);
Table 3
Name of control point/road and the year of commissioning:
| Year after commissioning |
Estimated average daily traffic volume | ||
| South-bound | North-bound | Total | |
| First year | |||
| Sixth year | |||
| ... | |||
| 31st year | |||
(4) in the first year, and every fifth year thereafter (until the 31st year but not later than last year), of the commissioning of the control points and the roads mentioned in (3), of the average south-bound and north-bound traffic volumes in the morning and afternoon of each day as well as the whole day and the relevant totals (set out in tables of the same format as Table 4);
Table 4
Name of control point/road:
| Year after commissioning |
Average daily traffic volume | ||||||||
| Morning | Afternoon | Whole day | |||||||
| South-bound | North-bound | Total | South-bound | North-bound | Total | South-bound | North-bound | Total | |
| First year | |||||||||
| Sixth year | |||||||||
| ... | |||||||||
| 31st year | |||||||||
(5) of the amount of money paid to the Mainland authorities by the Government in respect of the Shenzhen Bay Port in each year since its commissioning in 2007 (set out in Table 5); the head of expenditure from which the money have been drawn;
Table 5
| Year | Land rental | Maintenance fee | Land development cost | Others |
| 2007 | ||||
| ... | ||||
| January to October 2020 |
(6) given that the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC), wholly-owned by the Government, and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL) have set up a Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism in respect of the operating arrangements for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL), under which the MTRCL will bear all the risk or retain all the return if the deviation of the actual patronage from the projected patronage is within 15 per cent, and MTRCL and KCRC will share the risk or return according to the ratio of 30 per cent to 70 per cent if the deviation of the actual patronage from the projected patronage is beyond 15 per cent, of the relevant profits and losses in each year since the commissioning of XRL in 2018, and the relevant estimated amount for the current year; whether the Government needs to inject funds to KCRC to enable it to bear the risks concerned; if so, of the head of expenditure from which the amount is drawn; and
(7) of the Government's income and expenditure in respect of HZMB in each year since its commissioning in 2018; the respective estimates on the payback period of the HZMB Hong Kong Link Road made by the Government during the planning stage and at present?
Reply:
President,
Having consulted the Security Bureau/Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) and Immigration Department (ImmD), the Development Bureau/Planning Department, the Transport Department and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Authority, my reply to the various parts of the Hon Claudia Mo's question is as follows.
(1) and (2) According to the information provided by ImmD, the average daily number of passenger trips using the following boundary control points (BCPs) in the past ten years is as follows:
| Table 1 | ||||||||
| Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1) | ||||||||
| BCPs/ Year |
Lo Wu | Lok Ma Chau Spur Line (Note 3) |
Man Kam To (Note 4) |
Sha Tau Kok | ||||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | 123,665 | 126,613 | 39,820 | 39,271 | 705 | 704 | 3,920 | 3,932 |
| 2011 | 125,796 | 128,531 | 47,344 | 46,289 | 227 | 248 | 4,300 | 4,213 |
| 2012 | 129,075 | 132,351 | 57,447 | 55,591 | 300 | 321 | 4,442 | 4,370 |
| 2013 | 123,596 | 128,735 | 65,437 | 62,424 | 1,894 | 1,323 | 4,759 | 4,541 |
| 2014 | 117,859 | 120,900 | 74,697 | 75,099 | 6,137 | 3,978 | 4,515 | 4,294 |
| 2015 | 115,327 | 112,638 | 81,889 | 87,807 | 6,270 | 4,678 | 4,424 | 4,156 |
| 2016 | 111,518 | 110,562 | 84,516 | 88,734 | 5,912 | 5,012 | 4,193 | 3,999 |
| 2017 | 111,197 | 112,661 | 80,994 | 81,922 | 6,187 | 5,431 | 4,309 | 4,147 |
| 2018 | 115,182 | 118,011 | 78,251 | 76,060 | 6,309 | 5,461 | 4,313 | 4,156 |
| 2019 | 105,470 | 108,871 | 69,343 | 68,072 | 5,291 | 4,642 | 3,731 | 3,616 |
| 2020 (Jan to Sep) (Note 2) |
9,854 | 10,058 | 6,528 | 6,307 | 472 | 415 | 359 | 338 |
| Table 1 (Con't) | ||||||||
| Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1) | ||||||||
| BCPs Year |
Lok Ma Chau |
Shenzhen Bay (Note 3) |
HZMB Hong Kong Port (Note 5) |
Heung Yuen Wai (Note 6) |
||||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | 48,611 | 43,183 | 28,923 | 29,656 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011 | 45,566 | 40,385 | 33,887 | 34,760 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2012 | 43,395 | 37,437 | 38,257 | 39,134 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013 | 42,258 | 35,643 | 43,839 | 45,065 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014 | 43,074 | 35,126 | 50,547 | 51,403 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2015 | 42,548 | 35,441 | 51,350 | 51,903 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016 | 40,728 | 33,684 | 52,414 | 52,827 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | 43,038 | 35,572 | 55,450 | 55,857 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 | 41,525 | 36,902 | 60,449 | 60,888 | 31,481 | 26,455 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | 35,730 | 32,220 | 52,690 | 52,861 | 24,270 | 28,944 | -- | -- |
| 2020 (Jan to Sep) (Note 2) |
3,096 | 2,820 | 6,619 | 6,208 | 2,915 | 2,983 | 0 | 0 |
| Table 1 (Con't) | ||||||||
| Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1) | ||||||||
| BCPs/ Year |
Airport | Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal | China Ferry Terminal | Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal (Note 7) |
||||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | 46,658 | 44,496 | 22,170 | 25,299 | 10,426 | 11,288 | 2 | 2 |
| 2011 | 49,753 | 47,492 | 22,794 | 26,209 | 10,968 | 12,106 | 398 | 580 |
| 2012 | 52,857 | 50,345 | 22,550 | 26,077 | 10,712 | 12,851 | 540 | 666 |
| 2013 | 57,273 | 54,920 | 22,387 | 26,089 | 11,379 | 13,828 | - | - |
| 2014 | 60,368 | 58,074 | 21,811 | 26,703 | 10,911 | 14,263 | - | - |
| 2015 | 64,586 | 62,317 | 21,335 | 26,414 | 10,510 | 12,794 | - | - |
| 2016 | 67,460 | 65,439 | 21,090 | 25,471 | 9,206 | 11,048 | 892 | 878 |
| 2017 | 70,873 | 68,665 | 20,549 | 26,894 | 9,051 | 10,332 | 948 | 960 |
| 2018 | 74,279 | 71,961 | 19,850 | 24,788 | 8,994 | 9,742 | 1,002 | 1,011 |
| 2019 | 68,063 | 66,178 | 13,972 | 13,912 | 4,999 | 5,303 | 714 | 712 |
| 2020 (Jan to Sep) (Note 2) |
10,449 | 9,782 | 1,135 | 1,131 | 370 | 348 | 52 | 53 |
| Table 1 (Con't) | ||||||||
| Average Daily Number of Passenger Trips (Note 1) | ||||||||
| BCPs/ Year |
Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (Note 8) |
West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ( Note 9) | Harbour Control | Hung Hom | ||||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 850 | 817 | 4,456 | 4,715 |
| 2011 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1,012 | 982 | 5,286 | 5,410 |
| 2012 | -- | -- | -- | -- | 1,024 | 993 | 5,650 | 5,714 |
| 2013 | 583 | 594 | -- | -- | 891 | 871 | 6,070 | 6,129 |
| 2014 | 1,918 | 1,930 | -- | -- | 90 | 71 | 6,160 | 6,118 |
| 2015 | 2,269 | 2,294 | -- | -- | 96 | 66 | 5,753 | 5,797 |
| 2016 | 2,201 | 2,232 | -- | -- | 87 | 64 | 5,297 | 5,314 |
| 2017 | 2,315 | 2,294 | -- | -- | 83 | 67 | 5,294 | 5,270 |
| 2018 | 2,377 | 2,370 | 27,188 | 25,513 | 85 | 65 | 5,275 | 5,209 |
| 2019 | 2,187 | 2,158 | 23,144 | 22,698 | 83 | 58 | 2,696 | 2,755 |
| 2020 (Jan to Sep) (Note 2) |
248 | 248 | 1,749 | 1,812 | 86 | 66 | 193 | 203 |
Note 1: Figures in this table refer to all passenger trips passing through the BCPs excluding drivers and passengers who were refused landing.
Note 2: In response to the development of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government has suspended passenger clearance services at most of BCPs by phases since end-January 2020:
- West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Hung Hom, Man Kam To, Sha Tau Kok, China Ferry Terminal and Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal (with effect from January 30, 2020);
- Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, Lok Ma Chau and Hong Kong Macau Ferry Terminal (with effect from February 4, 2020); and
- Kai Tak Cruise Terminal (with effect from the afternoon of February 5, 2020).
Note 3: According to the special arrangements by the HKSAR Government and Shenzhen Municipal Government, Secondary 3 to Secondary 5 cross-boundary students entered and exited Hong Kong via Shenzhen Bay Control Point or Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point during designated periods from Monday to Friday between June 15 and July 17, 2020 (except public holidays).
Note 4: Due to the reconstruction works at the passenger clearance area of the Shenzhen side of the Man Kam To Control Point, only cross-boundary goods vehicles, cross-boundary students and limited cross-boundary coaches were allowed to use the Man Kam To Control Point starting from February 22, 2010. Upon completion of the works, it resumed full operation on August 26, 2013.
Note 5: Officially commissioned on October 24, 2018.
Note 6: The Heung Yuen Wai BCP commenced operation on August 26, 2020, with only cargo clearance service available at this stage (i.e. no passenger clearance service for the time being).
Note 7: The operation of Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal Control Point was suspended from December 16, 2010 to April 14, 2011 and from July 1, 2012 to January 27, 2016.
Note 8: The first berth of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal was officially commissioned on June 12, 2013. The number of arrivals also included passengers of cruise liners berthing at other anchorages, as well as passengers on board Hong Kong-based passenger liners running regular daily high seas trips.
Note 9: Officially commissioned on September 23, 2018. In response to the COVID-19 epidemic, the services have been suspended since January 30, 2020.
ImmD does not maintain other breakdown statistics mentioned in the question.
(3) and (4) According to the information provided by C&ED and the HZMB Authority (applicable to HZMB Hong Kong Port), the average daily number of cross-boundary vehicular trips using the following road-based BCPs in the past ten years is as follows:
| Table 2 | ||||||
| Average Daily Number of Cross-boundary Vehicular Trips (Note 1) | ||||||
| Road-based BCPs/ Year |
Man Kam To | Sha Tau Kok | Lok Ma Chau | |||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | 2 383 | 2 230 | 1 050 | 1 212 | 14 249 | 13 199 |
| 2011 | 2 161 | 2 073 | 1 142 | 1 287 | 13 819 | 12 764 |
| 2012 | 2 092 | 2 086 | 1 177 | 1 314 | 13 498 | 12 378 |
| 2013 | 2 172 | 2 195 | 1 251 | 1 391 | 13 295 | 12 241 |
| 2014 | 2 380 | 2 382 | 1 025 | 1 165 | 12 776 | 11 976 |
| 2015 | 2 415 | 2 479 | 1 065 | 1 187 | 12 470 | 11 761 |
| 2016 | 2 408 | 2 452 | 1 037 | 1 200 | 12 119 | 11 607 |
| 2017 | 2 573 | 2 501 | 1 096 | 1 324 | 12 076 | 11 637 |
| 2018 | 2 297 | 2 272 | 1 067 | 1 246 | 11 283 | 11 006 |
| 2019 | 2 158 | 2 075 | 1 001 | 1 163 | 10 179 | 10 064 |
| 2020 (Jan to Oct) (Note 3) |
1 669 | 1 435 | 373 | 547 | 4 646 | 4 776 |
| Table 2(Con't) | ||||||
| Average Daily Number of Cross-boundary Vehicular Trips (Note 1) | ||||||
| Road-based BCPs/ Year |
Shenzhen Bay | HZMB Hong Kong Port |
Heung Yuen Wai (Note 2) | |||
| Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | Inbound | Outbound | |
| 2010 | 3 862 | 4 932 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2011 | 4 271 | 5 258 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2012 | 4 477 | 5 416 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2013 | 4 581 | 5 461 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2014 | 4 668 | 5 303 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2015 | 4 823 | 5 316 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2016 | 5 606 | 5 899 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2017 | 6 216 | 6 496 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2018 | 6 537 | 6 645 | 1 725 | 1 769 | -- | -- |
| 2019 | 6 332 | 6 341 | 2 069 | 2 098 | -- | -- |
| 2020 (Jan to Oct) (Note 3) |
2 586 | 2 450 | 452 | 450 | 42 | 231 |
Note 1: The figures include cross-boundary goods vehicles, private cars, shuttle buses, and coaches.
Note 2: The Heung Yuen Wai BCP commenced operation on August 26, 2020, with only cargo clearance service available at this stage (i.e. no passenger clearance service for the time being).
Note 3: The figures for January to October 2020 are provisional only.
C&ED does not maintain other breakdown statistics mentioned in the question.
The design capacity and daily average vehicular flow in 2019 of Shenzhen Bay Bridge, Heung Yuen Wai Highway (part of which being Lung Shan Tunnel) and HZMB Hong Kong Link Road are as follows:
| Table 3 | ||||||
| Shenzhen Bay Bridge | Heung Yuen Wai Highway (Note 3) |
HZMB Hong Kong Link Road | ||||
| Design Capacity (vehicle/ hour) | Southbound | Northbound | Southbound | Northbound | To Hong Kong | To Zhuhai/Macao |
| 4 700 | 4 700 | 3 000 | 3 000 | 4 700 | 4 700 | |
| Average Daily Number of Vehicular Trips in 2019 | 9 450 (Note 1 and 2) |
9 680 (Note 1 and 2) |
6 210 (Note 1) |
7 330 (Note 1) |
2 069 (Note 4) |
2 098 (Note 4) |
Note 1: Based on the traffic flow statistics of the Annual Traffic Census. The most updated statistics are as in 2019.
Note 2: Including non-cross-boundary vehicles using the road section, for example, franchised buses, green minibuses, taxis as well as vehicles of BCP and its staff.
Note 3: The Heung Yuen Wai Highway was commissioned on May 26, 2019, whereas the Heung Yuen Wai BCP was open for use of cross-boundary cargo clearance on August 26, 2020.
Note 4: The source of information is the HZMB Authority. The Transport Department does not maintain statistics of the vehicular flow of HZMB Hong Kong Link Road. The above figures were the average daily number of vehicular flow of HZMB in 2019, thus that of non-cross boundary vehicles was not included.
(5) According to the Security Bureau, before the commissioning of the Shenzhen Bay Port, the HKSAR Government paid a one-off land development cost to the Shenzhen Municipal Government. The cost was about RMB 1,537 million.
The land usage cost of the Hong Kong Port Area is tabulated below:
| Table 4 | |
| Dates | Annual land usage cost (RMB) * |
| From July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2017 | 6,234,810 |
| From July 1, 2017 to June 30, 2019 | 8,105,253 |
| From July 1, 2019 | 1,000 |
* Denotes total land usage cost. Land usage cost is equally shared between ImmD and C&ED. The charging votes for ImmD and C&ED are Head 70 and Head 31 respectively.
(6) According to the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism" under the "Supplemental Service Concession Agreement" for the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL) signed between the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) and the MTR Corporation Limited (MTRCL), KCRC and MTRCL shall share the upside gain and downside risk if the deviation of the actual annual patronage from the projected level is beyond 15 per cent. Since the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of XRL on September 23, 2018, the patronage of XRL has been increasing progressively, bringing in stable fare revenues to MTRCL. Even in the second half of 2019 where patronage was affected by the dominance of public order events in Hong Kong, the patronage has not touched the lower limit under the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism", therefore neither the Government nor KCRC have made any payment to MTRCL in this regard since the commissioning of the Hong Kong section of XRL.
To prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic, the Hong Kong Section of XRL has suspended service since January 30, 2020. There is currently no scheduled date for service resumption. As the Hong Kong section of XRL has been suspended for more than nine months, the preliminary estimation is that KCRC will have to bear part of the risk according to the mechanism. KCRC and MTRCL will confirm in due course whether the actual patronage in 2020 has triggered the lower limit under the "Patronage Cap-and-Collar Mechanism" and discuss the related payment arrangements.
(7) The direct and indirect economic benefits of HZMB and its connecting roads have been assessed at the feasibility study stage of the relevant works. Direct economic benefits included savings in transport costs, value of time saved for travellers, induced traffic volume generated between the three territories, and value of time saved for goods on road. Since the commissioning of HZMB, there is a significant reduction in relevant travelling time between Hong Kong and the western Pearl River Delta (PRD) for people and goods. For example, the travelling time between Zhuhai and the Hong Kong International Airport has been reduced from four hours to 45 minutes; and the travelling time between Zhuhai and the Kwai Chung Container Terminal has been reduced from three and a half hours to 75 minutes, which bring direct economic benefits to Hong Kong. As regards the indirect economic benefits, the HZMB Hong Kong Port, situated at Lantau Island and adjacent to the Hong Kong International Airport, is the geographical converging point of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Coupled with the development of the Greater Bay Area (GBA), we anticipate that HZMB will play an important function of fostering the smooth flow of people, capital, technology, and so forth within western PRD and GBA.
The HZMB Main Bridge is located within the Mainland waters and the HZMB Authority was established pursuant to the Mainland laws as a non-profit-making public institution legal person to be responsible for the construction, operation, management and maintenance (including financial matters) of the HZMB Main Bridge. The HZMB Authority is operated on a self-financed basis. According to the territoriality principle and the agreement of the governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao, the HZMB Authority collects tolls from vehicles using the HZMB Main Bridge (the Toll Plaza is situated in the Mainland) in accordance with the laws of the Mainland to repay the bank loan and meet the expenses of the daily operation and maintenance of the HZMB. The toll income is not received by the HKSAR Government. It is not appropriate for the HKSAR Government to disclose relevant financial information of HZMB unilaterally. The governments of Hong Kong, Guangdong and Macao will monitor the operation of HZMB and continue to work closely to explore refinement proposals and press ahead various new cross-boundary transport measures for better utilising HZMB, taking into account the capacity of the respective ports and connecting roads.
Ends/Wednesday, November 11, 2020
Issued at HKT 19:15
Issued at HKT 19:15
NNNN