Guangdong southbound car scheme 'to arrive this year'
Mable Chan, second left, meets her Guangdong counterparts in Guangzhou over the Southbound Travel Scheme. Photo courtesy of the Information Services Department
The government has been quoted as saying it plans to roll out a scheme this year that will allow cars in Guangdong to enter the streets of Hong Kong's urban areas.
This came as Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan met her counterparts in Guangzhou on Monday to discuss details of the Southbound Travel for Guangdong Vehicles scheme.
In a statement, the government said Chan visited a vehicle examination centre in Guangzhou to learn more about its operation as part of efforts to prepare for the southbound scheme.
It said the increased traffic will benefit various industries.
"Under orderly and controllable circumstances, the Southbound Travel Scheme aims to provide options for tourists from Guangdong, meeting the keen expectations of the public on two-way travel and bringing new visitor segments to Hong Kong," it said.
In an interview with the Wen Wei Po newspaper, Chan was quoted as saying that authorities will set a quota for the scheme.
She said there's certainly a need to take into account how small Hong Kong is as well as its traffic jams.
Chan noted, for instance, that the quota for the northbound scheme was 200 vehicles a day when it began two years ago.
The southbound scheme is meant to be implemented in two phases.
Guangdong drivers would initially be allowed to take their vehicles to an automated car park near the bridge linking Hong Kong with Macau and Zhuhai, before urban areas are opened up to them in the second phase.
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