'Legco to hold extra meeting for new port legislation'

Security chief Chris Tang said the Legislative Council House Committee will hold a special meeting on Thursday to review a bill on the redeveloped Huanggang Port. As the State Council had decided the Hong Kong Port Area is to be commissioned on July 31, the SAR is obliged to complete local legislative work before then, he said. The bill was introduced to the legislature for first and second readings on Wednesday. Speaking to the media, the secretary for security said the legislature’s decision to hold an additional meeting for discussion was a responsible approach. Tang added that he would attend four briefings on Wednesday – each lasting for an hour – to help lawmakers understand relevant documents and facilitate the legislative process. “Given that we aim to complete all legislative work of the bill and subsidiary legislation by July 31, there is a great deal of work to be done, but we will still ensure thorough discussion,” he said. “Although many of the provisions are similar to those for the Shenzhen Bay Port, or of a technical nature, we will still go through them clause by clause with the legislature to provide detailed explanations and discuss them thoroughly.” Tang noted the main structure of the new Huanggang Port building was almost complete, with some renovation works still ongoing, including the installation of border clearance facilities. Authorities will conduct tests to ensure the port's smooth operation, he said. Tang added that a co-location arrangement to be adopted at the redeveloped port would shorten the passenger clearance time from the current 30 minutes to about five minutes. The capacity of the port would also be increased from 40,000 passenger trips per day to 200,000, he said. Edited by Aaron Tam