A TOTAL of 1,600 Hong Kong private car owners have been selected to become the first applicants of the Northbound Travel for Hong Kong Vehicles program, a scheme that allows them to use their eligible vehicles to travel between the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Guangdong Province via the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.

The 1,600 applicants were selected through “computer ballot” from more than 16,000 hopefuls who signed up Monday and Tuesday. The ballot results were announced at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

The shortlisted applicants, who will receive an assigned application date by email, can formally apply between Thursday and June 10.

Once approved, applicants will be issued a Closed Road Permit that costs HK$540 (US$69) per year or HK$45 per month, as well as a Chinese mainland electronic vehicle license, with which they will be allowed to use their eligible vehicles to travel between Hong Kong and Guangdong via the bridge starting July 1.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said that the program will provide a convenient way for Hong Kong residents to drive to Guangdong to visit families, go sightseeing and embrace the opportunities brought by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). It will also mark an important milestone in the economic integration of the GBA, he added. (China Daily)