The Chief Executive, Mr Chui Sai On, said today that three Central Government ministries responded positively about the proposed new Macao-Zhuhai passageway.

Mr Chui met respectively with the Minister of the Public Security of the People's Republic of China, Mr Meng Jianzhu, the Director of the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), Mr Zhi Shuping, and the Director of the General Administration of China Customs, Mr Yu Guangzhou.

Mr Chui introduced to them the proposal of the new Macao-Zhuhai passageway, which Guangdong and Macao authorities had formally proposed to the Central Government previously, and exchanged ideas with them on this project.

He said the new passageway would bolster Macao’s drive to become a global tourism and leisure hub, benefit the general public, and help divert travelers flow from the current checkpoints.

The Secretary for Transport and Public Works, Mr Lau Si Io, who was also in Beijing with Mr Chui, said the Government would follow up on the budget and timetable of the project when it received approval from the Central Government.

The new passageway would not only expand and upgrade customs facilities but also enable the Government to find new means to shorten the time needed for people to cross into Zhuhai or Macao, he said.