10millionuse2newcheckpoints

From: Shenzhen Daily

Updated: 2008-01-04 00:01

THE total number of travelers using the new Shenzhen Bay and Futian checkpoints, which opened July 1 and Aug. 15 last year respectively, each hit 5 million Thursday.

"The number of passengers using the Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint has increased from 10,000 per day at the beginning to 27,000 at present, and even reaches 40,000 a day during peak periods," said Xu Dianwei, a spokesperson for the Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint authority. The number of vehicles crossing the Shenzhen Bay border had also risen from a few hundred to 3,200 a day, and reached 5,000 a day during peak periods. The number of trucks increased from 22.5 to 965 a day, Xu said.

The Shenzhen Bay Checkpoint is the only checkpoint in China where travelers entering or leaving the mainland and Hong Kong are processed at a single point. This arrangement has greatly facilitated passenger crossings between Shenzhen and Hong Kong and has helped attract an increasing number of passengers to use the checkpoint.

"The number of passengers using the Futian Checkpoint increased from 20,000 a day at the beginning to more than 42,000 at present. The number will hit 50,000 a day during peak periods," said Huang Guochun, spokesperson for the Futian Checkpoint authority.

The Futian Checkpoint, the newest checkpoint in Shenzhen, has been opened for only 138 days. Due to the lack of transport connections, the number of passengers using the border crossing was about 30,000 a day at the beginning, accounting for only 12 percent of the handling capacity.

The Futian Checkpoint authority had continually tried to provide better service and this was partially attributed to the increase in the number of passengers using the checkpoint, Huang said, without elaborating.

"Up to 98.63 percent of the passengers were satisfied with the service provided by our officers," said Huang.

"Good service provided by the officers at the Futian Checkpoint enables me to be in the mood to start my job every day," said a passenger from Hong Kong, surnamed Liang.

In another development, the Huanggang Checkpoint opened automatic passenger customs clearance lanes Tuesday, greatly reducing the time for passengers to cross the border. More than 20,000 passengers had used the automatic lanes to cross the border by Wednesday.

 Shenzhen Daily