5th September 2026 – (Hong Kong) Hong Kong and Shenzhen will set a formal opening date for the rebuilt Huanggang Port only after both sides are satisfied it can run safely, smoothly and efficiently, the Director of Immigration, Mr Benson Kwok, said today, while stressing that the shared aim is still to open as soon as possible.
Speaking on a radio current-affairs programme, Kwok said the two governments and their border agencies are meeting closely and fine-tuning how their different computer systems mesh at the new co-located checkpoint. Immigration systems tested so far had operated normally, he said, and officials are studying further micro-adjustments so that the “collaborative inspection, one-stop clearance” model can move travellers through even faster once the gates open to the public.
Design capacity in the early period is expected to reach 200,000 passenger crossings a day, rising to 300,000 once a connecting railway is in place. More than 20,000 civil servants have already been mobilised for large pressure tests ahead of the launch, and on 29th August the port staged its fourth major drill—the second joint cross-boundary pressure exercise between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
Asked whether the gate could open before the National Day Golden Week around 1st October, Kwok declined to fix a calendar date. Confirmation that operations would be safe, smooth and efficient had to come first, he said, but if the port truly proves it can run without hitch, “we will open it as early as we can.” Speculation about a pre-holiday debut, he made clear, cannot override that operational test.
He also warned that the first days after opening are likely to be busy. Curious travellers may divert from Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai, the Lok Ma Chau Spur Line or Shenzhen Bay Port simply to try the new facility and take souvenir photos, and a first-day or early-stage flow of more than 100,000 people would “by no means be impossible.”
Immigration has already redeployed extra staff and hired more than 100 experienced retired officers on short contracts for immediate support. Over the longer term, Kwok said, the department will keep pressing the government for more permanent headcount so the new passenger gateway can cope with sustained demand.
