Macau’s busiest entry point will soon be able to welcome more arrivals and process them faster with a new border crossing checkpoint scheduled to open to the public on 8 September 2021.
The Qingmao Checkpoint is located just 800 meters from the Gongbei Border Gate and will provide overflow capacity support for Macau ID holders and visitors registered to use automated boundary crossing channels. It is designed to handle up to 200,000 crossings a day via 50 inbound and 50 outbound automated inspection channels.
Coming at a cost of MOP$5 billion (US$624 million) and covering 168,000 square meters of floor space, the new boundary crossing facility will operate 24 hours a day and implement a “Joint Inspection and One-Time Release” system by which travelers will only need to pass border controls once.
Next week’s opening promises to alleviate significant pressure on the current border facilities once visitation returns to pre-pandemic levels.
The Gongbei Border Gate, connecting with the mainland Chinese city of Zhuhai, is by far the number one point of entry for arrivals into Macau, accounting for 3.85 million of Macau’s 5.9 million arrivals in 2020 and 20.9 million of the record 39.4 million arrivals in 2019.
