Hong Kong and its neighboring city Shenzhen signed the Shenzhen Bay Port co-location arrangement at the new port complex building Thursday, finalizing detailed arrangements in the run-up of the new control point's opening on July 1.

The arrangement covers the use land in the Hong Kong Port Area, located at Shenzhen side, and the cooperation framework and implementation details of Shenzhen Bay Port.

Chief Secretary for Administration of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government Rafael Hui and Shenzhen City Mayor Xu Zongheng attended the pact-signing ceremony.

The agreements signed by the HKSAR and Shenzhen city governments include a land lease contract, a cooperation arrangement on major matters concerning the Shenzhen Bay Port, an implementation plan on operation of the Shenzhen Bay Port, and a cooperation agreement on the operation, maintenance and repair of the Shenzhen section of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge.

These agreements cover Hong Kong side's right to use the land at the Hong Kong Port Area within the Shenzhen Bay Port acquired by way of lease, as well as the cooperation framework and implementation details of the two sides concerning the Shenzhen Bay Port.

Hui thanked the Central People's Government, the Guangdong provincial government and Shenzhen city government for making the pact possible.

"The co-location arrangement at the Shenzhen Bay Port is the first of its kind to be implemented at control points between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland," Hui said, adding "it fulfills the spirit of the 'One Country, Two Systems' principle, and fully reflects its creativity and flexibility."

The Shenzhen Bay Port will be officially opened after a ceremony at noon on Sunday and passenger and cargo clearance facilities will be opened for public use from 6:00 p.m. on Sunday.

The new port installations will be located near the cross- border bridge that will link Shenzhen and Hong Kong in Shenzhen Bay, west of the two cities. It will be the fourth vehicular boundary crossing between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland after it is put into operation.

The National People's Congress, or China's top legislature, has authorized in March to allow Hong Kong to set up a customs office in the neighboring port city of Shenzhen in the Chinese mainland to ease pressure on overloaded port facilities, boost economic

development in Hong Kong and the mainland and maintain Hong Kong's stability and prosperity.

Hong Kong and Shenzhen originally planned to establish their customs offices at opposite ends of the bridge between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. But due to "pressure of space", the HKSAR government asked for the Central People's Government's permission to lease a stretch of land and build its custom office on the Shenzhen side.

Source: Xinhua