Allowing vehicles from Guangdong province to enter Hong Kong’s southern Lantau should be handled with “care”, Hong Kong’s transport chief told lawmakers.
At a meeting of the Legislative Council on Wednesday, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan said authorities would have to consult with local residents and the district council, citing recent cases of vehicles from Guangdong illegally entering restricted scenic roads in rural South Lantau.
Addressing a question by lawmaker and rural leader Kenneth Lau, Chan said: “Regarding the quota revisions and other possible improvements for self-driving tours in Lantau going forward, we will carefully and carefully monitor the situation. We will also consult and consider options with local residents and the Islands District Council.”
Vehicles under the Southbound Travel for Vehicles scheme in Guangdong have been running smoothly, and test centers in Guangdong have provided drivers with information on Hong Kong traffic rules, she added.
below the scheme of the journey to the southwhich took effect in December, up to 100 private cars from Guangdong province are allowed to drive into Hong Kong’s urban areas daily via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and stay for a maximum of three days.
The Transport Minister had previously touted the scheme as a boon to Hong Kong’s economy, boosting tourism and trade while increasing “integration” for citizens in the two regions.
The government launched the Driving on Lantau Island Scheme in 2016, allowing a daily quota of 50 private cars to access the closed roads to Ngong Ping, Tai O, Cheung Sha and Mui Wo on weekdays. The second phase has started in 2022, where the daily quota has increased from 25 to 50.
Under the scheme, around 12,000 quotas are available for allocation each year, with all being filled.
Citing official figures, Chan said the Transport Department received about 84,000 applications in 2023 and about 30,000 in each of the two subsequent years. She attributed the high number from three years ago to pandemic-related travel restrictions that limited residents to local tourism.
Responding to a suggestion by lawmaker Chan Hok-fung to extend South Lantau’s permits from one day to two or three days, the transport minister said authorities would consider extending the permit period to include weekends.
But she added that any quota extension must balance tourism development and local residents’ traffic concerns.
