Construction of Liantang Checkpoint in eastern Shenzhen will start this year, officials announced at a Friday conference about cooperation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong.
The fourth phase of Shenzhen River treatment work also will start this year.
Liantang Checkpoint, or Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point on the Hong Kong side, lies between Wenjindu Checkpoint, also in Luohu District, and Shatoujiao Checkpoint in Yantian District. It is expected to be completed in 2018 and the 4.4-km river treatment project will improve the environment around the checkpoint.
Hong Kong border officials also plan to install more e-channels at its boundary control points this year to shorten the time needed for eligible citizens to cross the border.
Shenzhen and Hong Kong signed four cooperative agreements during the annual conference Friday at Wuzhou Guest House. The agreements focused on establishing an innovation center for young entrepreneurs, promoting financial investment, deepening cultural development between the two cities, and developing aquatic animal disease detection.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief secretary for administration of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), said major improvements were made over the past year in helping cross-border students, curbing the flow of smuggling and reducing the number of illegal births by mainland women in Hong Kong, all with cooperative efforts from the Shenzhen government.
The two sides will also strengthen cooperation in the development of Qianhai, a growing modern service hub in coastal Nanshan and Bao'an districts.
Shenzhen Mayor Xu Qin said Qianhai will pilot four modern service industries: innovative finance, modern logistics, science and technological services, and information services. Xu said Qianhai will achieve its goals of 50 billion yuan (US$8 billion) in GDP by 2015 and 150 billion yuan by 2020.
Xu said he hoped the two sides would deepen their ties in culture and the arts, technological and innovative industries, and social management, to boost regional competitiveness.
(Source:Shenzhen Daily)