Restricted area to be slashed further by 710 hectares

It'll take effect on 10 June.

Another 710 hectares of land will be cut from the Frontier Closed Area on June 10, enabling people to enter the excised area without restriction.

The Security Bureau said the reduction covers the section of land between the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the Ng Tung River. On the day of implementation, the original Frontier Closed Area signage will be covered and new signage will be erected along the new Frontier Closed Area boundary.

To implement the reduction, the Government has amended the Frontier Closed Area Order and the Frontier Closed Area (Permission to Enter) Notice. The Legislative Council has scrutinised the legislative amendments which come into effect on June 10.

Starting from June 10, the closed road restriction within the excised area will be lifted. Vehicles will be free to use the roads in the excised area, but must follow other traffic instructions and restrictions.

The Lok Ma Chau Spur Line Control Point, the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the MTR Lo Wu Station will remain in the Frontier Closed Area after this second-stage reduction. Only boundary-crossing passengers using specified modes of transport and holders of relevant Closed Area Permits are permitted to enter those areas.

In 2008, the Government announced the plan to reduce the land coverage of the Frontier Closed Area from about 2,800 hectares to about 400 hectares in three stages. 

The first stage of reduction was implemented in February, 2012, covering the sections between Mai Po and the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and between Lin Ma Hang and Sha Tau Kok. The first two stages of reduction will release more than 1,450 hectares of land, more than half of the size of the original Frontier Closed Area. The third stage of reduction, covering the section between the Ng Tung River and Lin Ma Hang, is scheduled for implementation in 2015.