The upcoming opening of the new Zhongshan Passenger Port will make cross-boundary travel more convenient, facilitating business exchanges and boosting tourism between Zhongshan and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Initially, the port, which will come into service on Thursday, will operate three routes to Hong Kong International Airport, China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, and Shenzhen’s Shekou Port, reducing travel time to each of the destinations by an average of 20 minutes, compared with the old Zhongshan Port.

The new facility will enable passengers to travel from Zhongshan to HKIA in 50 minutes, while it’ll take 65 minutes to reach China Ferry Terminal and 50 minutes to Shekou Port.

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New routes to Taipa in Macao, islands off Zhuhai and water sightseeing routes are also in the pipeline.

Yang Xiaobin, vice-president and general manager of Longsys Zhongshan Storage Industrial Park, said the new port’s opening is a boon for companies like his, which has widespread international businesses spanning from the United States to Brazil, as shortened travel time would mean more frequent communication with overseas clients and potential collaboration opportunities.

“It only takes less than 10 minutes to drive from the terminal to our industrial park. Foreign clients arriving in Hong Kong by air will be able to reach our company faster. They’ll be more willing to come, thereby promoting business exchanges,” he said.

The new infrastructure has 12 berths, including six berths for Hong Kong and Macao routes, four berths for Chinese mainland lines and two others for maintenance work, with designed throughput capacity reaching 2.77 million passenger trips a year.

Fourteen daily ferry services between the new Zhongshan terminal and Hong Kong’s downtown area, and eight between the facility and HKIA will be running in the initial stage. Services to HKIA are expected to be gradually increased, based on demand and capacity.

Deng Jinping, deputy director of the Administrative Committee of Zhongshan’s Cuiheng New District, where the new port is located, said the project’s launch will further enhance the district’s position as a transportation pivot between the western and eastern sides of the Pearl River estuary.

It will also create better conditions for promoting a cross-boundary cooperative model of doing scientific research in Hong Kong and making productions in Zhongshan, he said.

Liu Deyi, manager for Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao at Zhongshan Youth International Travel Service Co, said the port’s opening is expected to spur demand for travel in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

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The port will explore the possibility of integrated development with low-altitude flights, sightseeing and the yacht economy.

“Creating more ways of travel will stimulate people’s desire to commute, boosting the tourism industry in the Greater Bay Area,” Liu said.

The new port marks the completion of yet another mega transport project in Zhongshan following the opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link in June this year. The 46-billion-yuan ($6.34-billion) cross-sea link has cut the travel time between Shenzhen and Zhongshan from two hours to about 30 minutes.

Contact the writer at sally@chinadailyhk.com