The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau (HKZM) bridge could open to traffic as early as in the second quarter 2018.
Last week the Macau SAR government announced that 600 permits will be issued for Macau – the other 100 will have six-month validity. The regular quota for Hong Kong-registered cars entering Macau via the HKZM Bridge has been set at 300 permits, each with three-year validity. Macau and Hong Kong bound vehicles registered under the regular quota initiative by the two sides will have unlimited access to the respective special administrative region within the validity period of the relevant permit.
The East Car Park at the border checkpoint of the HKZM Bridge will have a capacity of 3,000 spaces for Macau-bound drivers of Hong Kong-registered cars. The East Car Park will be for users of Hong Kong-registered cars that have not been registered under a regular quota initiative – 300 permits will be issued for Hong Kong-registered cars to enter Macau.
Once the bridge is operational, Macau-bound drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles that have not been registered under the regular quota initiative will be given the option to apply to join a transit scheme. Under this transit scheme, drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles wishing to drive to – but not into – Macau via the bridge will be required to register in advance and reserve a space in the Macau- administered East Car Park.
The car park lies at the eastern end of the man-made island where Macau’s HKZM Bridge border checkpoint is located.
Motorists driving Hong Kong vehicles registered under the transit scheme will not be permitted to drive directly into Macau.
They must enter Macau from the East Car Park using public transport. Hong Kong-registered cars will be charged MOP180 (USD22.50) per session (a session lasts for 12 hours).
Cars that are parked for less than 12 hours are counted as a session – so they will also be charged MOP180 (USD22.50).
A day is divided into two sessions – one from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the other from 10 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next day.
Drivers of Hong Kong-registered vehicles wishing to use the East Car Park will be required to make the reservation for a parking space 30 days in advance at the earliest and 12 hours at the latest prior to parking their cars in the car park.
And Hong Kong vehicles can be parked in the East Car Park for a maximum of eight consecutive days (16 sessions). According to the regulation, the users will be charged an additional MOP270 (USD34) per session (or the length of time that lasts for less than a session of 12 hours) if their vehicles have been parked exceeding the reserved time slots in the East Car Park.
Various types of vehicles are barred from using the East Car Park, such as vehicles for more than 9 seated passengers including the driver; vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tones; vehicles with a height exceeding 2 meters; and vehicles transporting potentially dangerous items such as toxic and inflammable products. The car park will be closed one hour after the hoisting of the No. 8 typhoon warning signal or the issuing of the Level 3 (black) storm surge warning.
In addition to the East Car Park, there will also be another car park at Macau’s HKZM Bridge border checkpoint – the West Car Park for drivers of Macau- registered vehicles in which the West Car Park will have a capacity of 5,143 spaces – comprising 3,089 for cars and 2,054 for motorcycles and scooters. In the West Car Park, cars will be charged MOP6 (USD0.80) per hour during the day (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and MOP3 (USD0.40) per hour during the night. Motorcycles and scooters will be charged MOP2 (USD0.30) per hour during the day and MOP1 (USD0.20) per hour during the night.
