Shenzhen Bay Port is part of the Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor, which the Corridor was proposed by the Shenzhen municipal government to the Chinese central government, as well as colonial British government of Hong Kong in the 1990s. Hong Kong became the first special administrative region of China on 1 July 1997. In March 2001, a feasibility study by the Hong Kong government, suggested to build the Hong Kong–Shenzhen Western Corridor. A further inter-government meeting in July 2001 concluded that, the border checkpoint of the Corridor should be co-located in the same place, thus the birth of Shenzhen Bay Port, which was sub-divided into Hong Kong Port Area and Shenzhen Port Area. The name Shenzhen Bay Port was agreed by another inter-government meeting in August 2004. Hong Kong government also entrusted Shenzhen municipal government to build the facilities of the Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area in July 2004. Some of the facilities was also sub-contracted to Hong Kong firm, such as Hsin Chong–Aster was responsible for the electrical and mechanical engineering of the Passenger Terminal Building of the Hong Kong Port Area. Hong Kong government also managed the Shenzhen section of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge, another component of the Corridor, despite geographically inside the boundary of Shenzhen. Shenzhen section of the bridge was in-between the Hong Kong section of the bridge, and the land area of the Port, which partly leased to Hong Kong as Hong Kong Port Area. The Port was opened on 1 July 2007, the 10th anniversary of the SAR, when Hu Jintao, the then General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and Chinese President, attended the opening ceremony. Hu and 6 other people officiated the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the Port. The Port connects to Hong Kong via Shenzhen Bay Bridge. Once landed on the land area of Hong Kong at Ngau Hom Shek, the cross-border traffic would use Kong Sham Western Highway and then the existing road networks to go to their destinations in Hong Kong. Shenzhen Bay Control Point, inside Hong Kong Port Area, is the first boundary control point with the immigration facilities of the Hong Kong side co-located in the same passenger terminal building with the mainland side. This allows passengers and vehicles for departure and arrival customs clearance to take place within a short distance.
