XN000022-1994-12-14 — Page 49

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Reply:

Mr President,

(a)

(b)

Customs formalities rarely cause delays, because Customs officers do not check every traveller. Most of our efforts, therefore, have been directed at improving immigration facilities.

The Administration has adopted the following measures to reduce the waiting time for travellers using the Lo Wu border crossing:

(i) resources have been allocated during the current financial year to enable an additional 51 immigration staff to be recruited at the Lo Wu Control Point;

(ii) optical character recognition readers are being installed at all control points, including Lo Wu. By September 1995, both Hong Kong identity card holders and machine- readable passport holders will be cleared by these readers. We estimate that the average processing time for a Hong Kong identity card holder will be reduced by 4 seconds and that for a machine-readable passport holder by 20 seconds;

(iii) an extension to the present immigration hall at Lo Wu is being built and will come into operation in early 1995. The extension will provide, for the Immigration Department, 48 additional arrival counters and 24 additional departure counters. Resources for an additional 60 staff will be provided. There will also be 30

additional customs counters and 67 additional customs staff.

(iv) an Immigration Task Force of 46 staff was formed in April in this year to undertake investigation duties and mount special operations. At peak travel periods members of the Task Force are deployed to reinforce Control Points, including Lo Wu. Resources for a further 46 staff will be allocated to the Task Force in the 1995/96 financial

year.

We have no plans at present to open additional border crossing points for travellers on foot. But we are planning to introduce a shuttle bus service between the Lok Ma Chau and Huanggang check points in the middle of next year.

End/Wednesday, December 14, 1994