The reconstructed Huanggang Port – the only 24-hour passenger inspection port between Shenzhen and Hong Kong – will open soon, according to Shenzhen authorities.

When it does, the world’s largest land border crossing will cut the clearance time of travelers from about half an hour to just five minutes, with an expected daily throughput of 200,000 passenger trips.

As of now, the demolition of the old port and the main structure of the new joint inspection building have been completed, with customs clearance systems undergoing testing.

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Spanning nearly 700,000 square meters, the new joint inspection building will feature 134 e-channels and 68 staffed counters.

The new port will adopt the co-location arrangement and a “collaborative inspection and joint clearance” mode. Under this method, two clearance procedures from both jurisdictions are conducted at a single land boundary control point. Passengers can complete customs clearance quickly by queuing up and having their documents inspected only once.

Reconstruction of the port started in 2019. According to the Shenzhen government, the old port could no longer meet the needs of deep integration between the two sides due to its inefficiency, outdated inspection methods, and poor spatial design.

In addition to the Shenzhen Metro Line 7, which is already in operation, the new Huanggang Port is also expected to be linked with four planned rail lines in the future – Hong Kong’s Northern Link, Shenzhen Metro Line 20, the Guangzhou-Dongguan-Shenzhen intercity line, and the Shenzhen-Guangzhou central-axis intercity line.

Chen Ziyu contributed to the story

Contact the writer at bingcun@chinadailyhk.com