The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, a mega infrastructure project which marked its sixth anniversary on Wednesday, is playing an increasingly important role in promoting cross-border exchanges and regional integration in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

More than 62.3 million passenger trips had been made through the Zhuhai Port of the bridge as of 8 am on Tuesday since it officially opened for traffic on Oct 23, 2018, according to official statistics. Vehicle trips reached 12.76 million over the same period.

The traffic flow has seen a notable increase since new policies were launched last year to allow eligible Hong Kong and Macao private cars to travel to Guangdong province via the bridge without the need to obtain regular quotas.

On Jan 1, 2023, the northbound travel program for Macao vehicles officially came into effect, while a similar program for Hong Kong vehicles was introduced half a year later.

The number of passenger trips made through the Zhuhai Port had surged 84.8 percent year-on-year to 21.5 million as of Tuesday since the start of the year — nearly two times the number during the same period in 2019, and marking the first time that the annual flow has broken the 20-million mark.

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Vehicle trips hit 4.35 million, up 82.8 percent from a year earlier and 5.75 times the level of the same period in 2019. This makes the port the top among all borders across the nation in terms of the number of vehicles inspected.

“Since the bridge opened for traffic six years ago, Hong Kong and Macao residents have made over 35.6 million cross-border trips via the bridge, accounting for 57 percent of the total number,” said Chen Faqiu, head of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge border checkpoint.

The wave is growing as more people from the two special administrative regions travel to the Chinese mainland to shop, dine and for entertainment, with the number so far this year having soared 82.8 percent year-on-year to a record high of 12.9 million.

Apart from travel, the bridge is also playing a significant part in boosting Guangdong’s foreign trade, attracting foreign capital and enhancing its economic links with other parts of the world, said Mao Yanhua, dean of the Institute of Regional Openness and Cooperation at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou.

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High-tech products including integrated circuits, liquid crystal displays, aeromotors and new energy vehicles, as well as high-value products such as gold jewelry, are the major types of products that are exported via the bridge. Many products are transported to other countries after arriving at the Hong Kong International Airport.

Xing Jing, who works for a Zhuhai company that specializes in producing curtain walls, said it takes less than three hours for the company’s products to be transported from Zhuhai to Hong Kong, greatly reducing the company’s delivery period and enhancing its market competitiveness.

The total value of imports and exports via the bridge’s Zhuhai Port amounts to 942.7 billion yuan ($132.28 billion) over the past six years, according to Zhuhai’s Gongbei customs.

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By linking the less-developed western side of the Pearl River Estuary with the eastern side, the bridge plays an important role in promoting the integrated and high-quality development of the GBA and helps the Hong Kong and Macao SARs to better integrate into the national development, Mao said.