Guangdong expands Hong Kong driving scheme to five more GBA cities

Guangdong province's scheme allowing private vehicles to drive south into the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will expand to five more cities in the Greater Bay Area from Tuesday, following an agreement between authorities from either side.

Private vehicles from Shenzhen, Foshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, and Zhaoqing will join those from Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Jiangmen, and Zhongshan, which have been eligible since the plan launched last November. The scheme is a southbound counterpart to the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles plan, which has allowed Hong Kong private car owners to drive into Guangdong via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge since July 2023.

The southbound plan has two components: parking at Hong Kong border checkpoints and entry into the SAR's urban areas.

On the parking side, the Hong Kong Airport Authority will begin accepting parking reservations at the automated car park at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge port from owners in the five newly added cities from 9 am Tuesday. From June 15, approved vehicles may drive via the bridge into the car park and connect to flights at Hong Kong International Airport.

For urban area entry, owners from the five newly added cities may apply for the July quota lottery between Tuesday and June 20. A total of 4,600 quotas are available, with 200 applications per day across 23 working days. Approved vehicles with valid reservations may enter Hong Kong's urban areas via the bridge from July 25.

Guangdong and Hong Kong authorities said the plan would be extended to all 21 prefecture-level cities across Guangdong by the first quarter of 2027, according to a statement released by the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security on Monday.