Aerial photo taken on Aug. 17, 2020 new Hengqin port in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province. The new port in Zhuhai's Hengqin will open to the public from Aug. 18 where inbound and outbound passenger clearance services by Macao will be relocated. All passenger clearance services and Macao-bound vehicle clearance services, once operated in Macao's Lotus Flower Bridge Checkpoint, will be relocated to the new Hengqin Port. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

A new passenger checking point at Hengqin Port in Zhuhai, South China's Guangdong Province, is ready to go into operation, processing travelers between Guangdong and Macao under China's grand plan to build the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). 

As a key infrastructure project under the GBA, the new port is designed to complete 80 million passenger clearances a year, and 222,000 daily. 

The new passenger checking point at the port will halve the time for passenger clearances, allowing for greater traffic flow between Guangdong and Macao. 

In addition, passenger clearance inspection process by Guangdong and Macao staff now take 30 seconds. The clearance service runs for 24 hours.

Macao Chief Executive Ho Iat Seng said that the construction and management teams of Hengqin Port adopted an unprecedented level of cooperation on the project, with staff and workers from Guangdong and Macao pulling together to support each other. 

As a result, they were able to overcome difficulties in the legal system, management styles and bigger issues including the coronavirus outbreak, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Such a strong cooperation enriches the sense of "one country, two systems" and sets an example for future cooperation between the Macao Special Administration Region and the Chinese mainland, he noted. 

Immigration inspection officers from Zhuhai (L) and police officers of Macao Special Administrative Region shake hands at new Hengqin port in Zhuhai, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 17, 2020. The new port in Zhuhai's Hengqin will open to the public from Aug. 18 where inbound and outbound passenger clearance services by Macao will be relocated. All passenger clearance services and Macao-bound vehicle clearance services, once operated in Macao's Lotus Flower Bridge Checkpoint, will be relocated to the new Hengqin Port. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

The new passenger inspection area at Hengqin Port began operating at 3 pm Tuesday. 

In order to enhance infrastructure connections between Macao and the city of Zhuhai, and to make transportation, exchange and trade between the two more convenient, China's top legislature authorized the jurisdiction of Macao's port zone at Hengqin Port. 

Global Times