6 villages to benefit from stage two of restricted area reduction

This implementation will release more than 710 hectares of land.

According to a report, the second stage of the reduction of the frontier closed area, covering the section between Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the Ng Tung River, will be implemented on June 10, when the Frontier Closed Area (Amendment) Order 2013, which specifies the new frontier closed area boundary, comes into effect.

The Security Bureau said the second stage will release more than 710 hectares of land from the closed area. Together with the more than 740 hectares of land already excised in the first stage, the move will see over 1,450 hectares, or more than half of the original frontier closed area, excised.

The move will reduce the closed area by the minimum amount necessary for the protection of public order, while allowing local residents and the public free access to the land. Six villages will benefit from this stage of the implementation.

Fence construction for the second stage has been largely completed. The third-stage, covering the section between the Ng Tung River and Lin Ma Hang, will start in 2015.

To implement the second-stage reduction, the Government will amend the Frontier Closed Area Order and the Frontier Closed Area (Permission to Enter) Notice. The legislative amendments will be tabled at the Legislative Council on April 17.

As the frontier closed area is reduced, the closed road restriction within the excised area will also be lifted. From June 10, vehicles can use the roads in the area to be excised in the second-stage reduction, but they must follow other traffic restrictions applicable to individual road sections.

On the day of implementation, the existing signs indicating the frontier closed area restriction will be covered at midnight. New signs will be erected at the new boundary.