Hong Kong, 18 Nov (China News Service) -- In response to a question from members in the Legislative Council on 18 November, The Secretary for Transport and Housing of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, Chan Fan, said that the Sarco Government and the MTR Corporation will explore various measures with the mainland to optimize the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed rail service to enhance connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
With the opening of the Hong Kong section of the high-speed rail in September 2018, the time to travel between Hong Kong and other GBA cities has been greatly shortened by connecting with the national high-speed rail network. Chen Fan said the HKSAR Government and the MTR Corporation (MTR Corporation) will explore various measures with the Mainland authorities to enhance the connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
Chen Fan said that the SAR Government has been in contact with relevant departments in the mainland on the "Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Intercity Railway Construction Plan" ("Planning"). The main projects in the "Plan" are to further increase the intercity railway connection in the inland cities of Guangdong Province. The HKSAR Government hopes that the implementation of the Plan will further facilitate the travel of citizens and enhance connectivity between Hong Kong and other cities in the Greater Bay Area.
He also mentioned that guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao in the Greater Bay Area are different jurisdictions, and the legal and regulatory systems related to transportation are also different. In accordance with the principle of "one country, two systems", the governments of the three places will implement different measures within their respective jurisdictions to strengthen the interconnection of cities in the Greater Bay Area. He said that in the past, during the promotion of cross-border transport infrastructure, the relevant authorities in Hong Kong and the Mainland set up relevant liaison mechanisms according to the actual situation and needs of the infrastructure project.
In terms of ports, Chen Fan believes that the ports in the Greater Bay Area have always performed their respective duties and formed a reasonable division of labor by virtue of their respective comparative advantages. Hong Kong ports are centrally responsible for transshipment with a comprehensive international liner network, handling about 60% of the container throughput for transshipment. Although Hong Kong's ports are operated by private operators and the port industry is also market-led, the HKSAR Government will continue to encourage ports to cooperate more under the framework of the Greater Bay Area in line with the principle of complementary advantages.
The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area positions Hong Kong as an international aviation hub, and Chen Fan said that in order to consolidate the leading position of hong Kong International Airport as an international aviation hub, the HKSAR Government has been studying various ways to cooperate with mainland airports to strengthen the interaction between airports in the region and complement each other's advantages. The Airport Authority Hong Kong has been actively participating in the Meeting of The Chairmen of the Five Greater Pearl River Delta Airports and will continue to explore ways to promote close cooperation with greater Pearl River Delta Airports to seize the opportunities presented by the development of the Greater Bay Area. (End)
Source: China News Network
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