Secretary for Transport and Housing of the HKSAR Government, Mr Chan Fan: Promote the construction of a three-dimensional transport network for land, sea and air multimodal transport

Source: People's Daily - Hong Kong and Macao Channel Original draft

"The development and integration of a region is inseparable from a transportation system that runs from north to south and reaches its neighbors." Chen Fan, Director General of the Transport and Housing Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government (hereinafter referred to as "hk hkh haworthia"), said that for some time now, hk HKHB has vigorously promoted the construction of a three-dimensional transport network for multimodal transport by sea, land and air, promoting the interconnection of people, goods and economy, building internal circulation and smooth external circulation.

In her 2020 Policy Address, Carrie Lam, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, proposed that Hong Kong enjoys the advantages of "one country, two systems" and can further strengthen its role as an "intermediary" in the international cycle; on the other hand, taking the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area as the starting point, actively becoming a "participant" in the domestic cycle and the "facilitator" of the international cycle, giving full play to this dual role will provide an endless source of impetus for Hong Kong's economic belt.

Smart mobility drives Hong Kong's sustainable development

Extensive tracks drive Hong Kong's development. 90% of Hong Kong citizens use public transport to travel, Chen Fan believes that under this premise, the developed public transport network is like the blood vessels all over the human body, and different means of transport have their own positioning. As a result, the HKSAR Government has combined the latest travel habits of citizens, referred to and introduced innovative transport modes and technologies, enhanced public transport services to meet the needs of citizens, and effectively allocated different transport resources to support sustainable urban development.

The first is convenience. Chen Fan pointed out that on January 23, the MTR officially launched the MTR service with QR code payment, opening a new chapter for Hong Kong's "smart travel", coupled with the existing Octopus payment function, now the public almost no longer need cash to take public transportation. In addition, the Transport Department is actively promoting six pilot projects on automated parking systems, hoping to alleviate the shortage of public parking spaces through the application of technology.

The second is safe travel. "Under the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring public safety and ensuring the safety of the public has also become a priority of the Hong Kong Housing Authority." According to Fan Chen, the Hong Kong Housing Authority assists public transport operators by using robots to clean and disinfect all public transport vehicles to ensure the safety of passengers and staff. In terms of cross-border logistics and transportation, in coordination with the mainland's joint prevention and control, epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic, the nucleic acid testing arrangements for cross-border personnel have been shortened from the initial "7-day inspection" to "3-day inspection", and now it is checked every day to fully protect the health and safety of the people.

The third is green transportation. At present, 12 million people travel through public transport in Hong Kong every day, of which about 5 million use railways, about 4 million take buses, about 2 million take minibuses, and nearly 1 million take taxis. Chen Fan pointed out that according to the relationship between carrying and demand, Hong Kong plans its transport network according to its population density, with the railway with the least carbon emissions as the backbone, and other means of transport to maintain sustainable development. Through the rational use of road space, the potential of the land is released, and a series of living facilities are planned to make the lives of citizens better.

Promote integration into the overall situation of national development

North-south traffic promotes Hong Kong's integration into the overall national development. High-speed rail, bridges, ports... With the completion of a series of "super projects", the flow of personnel and freight between Hong Kong and the mainland has become more and more convenient. In the form of a booster, transportation has become a smooth road to build a dream of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, driving the rise of a region.

On 2 May 2017, the immersed tube tunnel of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was successfully completed, becoming the first world-class cross-sea traffic project jointly built by Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao, and on 23 September 2018, the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong high-speed railway was opened to traffic, connecting Hong Kong with 16 major large and medium-sized cities in the mainland. "We must grasp the development conditions provided for Hong Kong by the opportunities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area." Chen Fan said.

At the end of 2020, the Hong Kong SAR Government announced that it will promote the "No Quota Scheme for The Northbound Carriage of the Bridge" to meet the needs of Hong Kong citizens for short-term family visits and tourism. Chen Fan pointed out that this plan will enlarge the living circle of Hong Kong citizens from 1,100 square kilometers to more than 50,000 square kilometers in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, which will help broaden horizons and improve the quality of life.

In her 2020 Policy Address, Carrie Lam, chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), mentioned the proposal to allow the Airport Authority of Hong Kong to take a stake in Zhuhai Airport under market-oriented rules. Chen Fan said that since 2006, Hong Kong International Airport and Zhuhai Airport have cooperated. The opening of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge provides an opportunity for further cooperation between the two airports and brings greater room for development.

Multimodal transport consolidates its position as a shipping hub

The three-dimensional transportation network crisscrossed by land, sea and air has driven Hong Kong forward and further consolidated Hong Kong's status as an international shipping hub.

Previously, Hong Kong put forward the vision and development blueprint for building an "airport city". Chen Fan introduced that Hong Kong International Airport enjoys geographical and management advantages, is a multimodal transport hub, and has perfect sea and land transportation connections. He further mentioned that as an international shipping hub, Hong Kong International Airport has more than 120 airlines to provide services, connecting Hong Kong and more than 220 countries and regions around the world, with more than 1,100 daily flights. In addition, the space city project under construction is an important part of the development of Hong Kong International Airport into an "airport city". The project will be completed in phases from 2021 to 2027, integrating multiple functions such as catering, entertainment and shopping, and will provide a variety of services for Hong Kong residents and visitors.

The third runway of Hong Kong International Airport is expected to be completed in 2022. By 2024, the three-runway system will be fully launched, and the annual passenger traffic will reach 100 million passengers and the cargo handling capacity will reach 9 million tons. Chen Fan stressed that the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area explicitly mentions Hong Kong's status as an international aviation hub. When the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area takes off in full swing, hong Kong International Airport will become the leading international airport in the Bay Area airport group, leading the rapid flow of people and goods in the Greater Bay Area.

Chen Fan believes that Hong Kong has a long history of shipping and occupies an important position in international shipping. As a platform for "going global", Hong Kong connects cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with international markets, and will drive other cities in the Greater Bay Area to jointly build world-class port clusters and airport clusters, so as to become a high-end shipping service industry cluster in the Asia-Pacific region, and cooperate with the national "Belt and Road" construction. In addition, Hong Kong can also provide maritime-related professional services, including legal, arbitration, finance and ship management, and high value-added services will provide impetus for the development of the Greater Bay Area.