Picture of Qingmao Checkpoint. Photo: VCG

A new border checkpoint linking the Macao Special Administrative Region and the mainland's Guangdong Province officially opened on Wednesday, injecting new impetus into deepening cooperation between the mainland and the SAR and advancing the development of the Greater Bay Area.

The new port, known as the Qingmao Checkpoint, adjacent to the Gongbei Port, where is one of the main ports between Macao and Guangdong, will allow MacaoID holders, Hong Kong permanent residence holders and tourists with valid permit to pass the gate in 30 seconds only by scanning their IDs, finger prints and facial recognition. 

Guangdong governor Ma Xingrui said that since the port connects directly to the Zhuhai city rail, Macao residents are able to travel to all parts of the country after arriving at Zhuhai. The checkpoint will promote Macao to integrate with the city rail network of the Greater Bay Area as well as the national high-speed rail network.

It will facilitate more Macao residents to share the achievements of the Greater Bay Area and inject new impetus into the regional development, Ma said. 

The new facility, where has 50 automated channels inbound for passenger clearance services and 50 automated channels outbound, will operate round the clock. Two staffed counters are also operated in each direction. The daily clearance level is likely to be around 200,000, reports said.

Chen Guanghan, chief expert at the Institute of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao Development Studies of Sun Yat-sen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the port offers overflow capacity in support of the nearby Gongbei Port where there are always long lines, especially during holidays. 

The Qingmao Checkpoint directly links to the urban rail between Guangzhou and Zhuhai, meaning tourists and city commuters are able to pass the checkpoint directly from the mainland after getting off the rail to urban areas of Macao, which will further boost communications between the mainland and Macao and help cross-regional tourism, Chen said. 

The checkpoint will also drive the growth of the northern part of Macao, where 250,000 residents, or 40 percent of the SAR's population live, experts said. 

In the future, the Qingmao Checkpoint is likely to link high-speed trains linking Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macao, Chen noted.