The Task Force of Supplies from the Mainland led by the Transport and Housing Bureau (THB) has been working closely with the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal People's Government to explore various means to stabilise the supply of goods from the Mainland to Hong Kong. In addition to land transport arrangements, transportation of goods by water and railway are already in service.
A spokesperson for the THB said that the "Sea Express" water transportation service from the Mainland to Hong Kong has been fully launched and its capacity is rising to increase the supplies of fresh food, other daily necessities and manufacturing materials.
Currently, there are three water transportation routes between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, respectively (1) from Shenzhen Yantian International Container Terminals to Hong Kong Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (KTCT); (2) from Shenzhen DaChan Bay Terminals to KTCT; and (3) from China Merchants Port (South China) Management Center (Shenzhen Mawan, Shekou and Chiwan Container Terminals) to Hong Kong River Trade Terminal, etc. Together with the water transportation routes from other cities in Guangdong Province, including the routes from Guangzhou Lianhuashan Port, Zhongshan Huangpu Port and Zhuhai Doumen Port to Hong Kong Tuen Mun Chu Kong Pier, the water transport capacity amounts to tens of thousands tonnes daily.
The spokesperson said today (March 21) that around 3 660 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of supplies were transported to Hong Kong from Shenzhen yesterday (March 20), equivalent to about 32 380 tonnes of goods, among which around 20 TEUs (about 140 tonnes) were fresh food and around 3 640 TEUs (about 32 240 tonnes) were non-fresh food, according to information from the Mainland authorities.
Since the launch of services from the three ports in Shenzhen since February 18 to yesterday, a total of around 42 630 TEUs of supplies have been shipped to Hong Kong, equivalent to about 296 200 tonnes of goods, among which around 850 TEUs (about 7 630 tonnes) were fresh food and around 41 780 TEUs (about 288 570 tonnes) were non-fresh food.
As for rail cargo, it mainly transports anti-epidemic supplies at the moment. Sixteen TEUs with a total of 40 tonnes of goods were transported to Hong Kong yesterday. Since its launch on March 2 and up to yesterday, more than 1 050 tonnes of goods including anti-epidemic supplies such as COVID-19 rapid antigen test (RAT) kits and protective gowns were transported to Hong Kong.
To further ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong through land transport, the THB conducted a trial run of cargo transfer at a yard situated on Kam Pok Road, San Tin, Yuen Long, today and it was completed smoothly. The THB will continue to work with the Mainland authorities to fully take forward cargo transfer arrangements on the Hong Kong side. It is a contingency measure in response to the latest epidemic situation in the city so as to reduce the risk of epidemic transmission in both the Mainland and Hong Kong, ensuring both a smooth cross-boundary land transport and a stable goods supply to Hong Kong.
On the other hand, to avoid a spillover of the epidemic, the Transport Department has arranged dedicated staff to conduct RATs for cross-boundary goods vehicle drivers at various land boundary control points (BCPs) from February 28 onward. Only drivers with a negative result are allowed to enter the Mainland. In order to further improve the accuracy of the tests, the RATs conducted at the BCPs have gradually been replaced with rapid nucleic acid tests starting from yesterday.
The THB will closely monitor the situation and co-operate with the Mainland authorities to facilitate and implement various measures to ensure a stable goods supply to Hong Kong, with a view to complementing the supply through land, water and railway transport, enhancing the capacity and efficiency as well as optimising the flow of cross-boundary supplies.
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