Lok Ma Chau Control Point
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lok Ma Chau Control Point | |
|---|---|
落馬洲管制站 | |
 Lok Ma Chau Control Point from Hong Kong side | |
 Interactive map of the Lok Ma Chau Control Point area | |
| General information | |
| Type | Border control |
| Location | Lok Ma Chau, New Territories, Hong Kong |
| Coordinates | 22°31′15″N 114°04′30″E / 22.52074°N 114.07496°E |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Management | Customs and Excise Department, Immigration Department |
| Website | |
| td.gov.hk | |
| Coordinates | 22°30′32″N 114°04′26″E / 22.509°N 114.074°E |
| Carries | Pedestrians, Vehicles, Containers, Cargo |
| Crosses | Frontier Closed Area |
| Statistics | |
| Toll | No toll |
| Location | |
 Interactive map of Lok Ma Chau Control Point | |
| Lok Ma Chau Control Point | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese | 落馬洲管制站 | ||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 落马洲管制站 | ||||||||||
| Jyutping | lok6 maa5 zau1 gun2 zai3 zaam6 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Lok Ma Chau Control Point (Chinese: 落馬洲管制站) is an immigration control point in Lok Ma Chau, Yuen Long District, New Territories, Hong Kong, which is on the border between Hong Kong and mainland China.[1] It opened in 1989 as the third road crossing between the then British dependent territory and China. It started providing 24-hour passenger clearance in January 2003, and is still the only Hong Kong control point with Shenzhen in mainland China to do so.[2] Its counterpart is the Huanggang Port in mainland China, across Sham Chun River and interconnected by the Lok Ma Chau Bridge.
Before reaching this point, vehicles must pass through police checkpoints along San Sham Road to Lok Ma Chau Control Point. Permits must be carried in order to pass these points and to travel to the control points.
Lok Ma Chau Control Point was the third road crossing built between Hong Kong and Guangdong, after Man Kam To and Sha Tau Kok. It was built as part of the New Territories Circular Road project, and was intended to relieve the congested Man Kam To Control Point.[3] Construction began in December 1985.[4][5] Customs, police, and other buildings were designed by the Architectural Services Department.[4] The new crossing opened on 29 December 1989, initially only using the Eastern Bridge, providing two lanes.[6] The Western Bridge was opened to traffic on 18 October 1991, adding two more lanes.[4][7]
In October 1993, Governor Chris Patten announced a plan to open the crossing on a 24-hour basis. This was strongly supported by the territory's business community, but criticised by villagers due to increased noise and dust pollution.[8] Overnight border crossing was introduced on 4 November 1994 (i.e. after 3 November 1994).[9] The control point began providing 24-hour passenger clearance from 27 January 2003 (i.e. after 26 January 2003).[10]
Construction of a new four-lane bridge, directly to the east of the existing two bridges, was proposed by the government in early 2003 to meet increasing traffic demand.[11] Construction began in November 2003 and was completed in December 2004. The new bridge opened to traffic in January 2005.[12]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Lok Ma Chau Control Point was closed between February 4, 2020 until February 6, 2023.[13][14]
