About 3.69 million people are expected to pass through Hong Kong's immigration checkpoints during the Qingming Festival, a traditional Chinese festival, up 8.8 percent over last year, the Immigration Department said Thursday.

Among the total, 2.87 million are expected to travel by land, up 9.2 percent, the department said.

The peak period for passenger traffic will be from April 1 to April 6. About 1.77 million passengers will travel through Lo Wu checkpoint, a daily average of 295,000, up 3.3 percent.

Departing passengers at Lo Wu are expected to peak at 190,000 on April 1, while arrivals will peak April 2-5 with 170,000 people returning to Hong Kong. Highest daily traffic is expected to reach 325,000 on April 1.

Lok Ma Chau checkpoint will see about 940,000 travelers, a daily average of 156,000, up 23.1 percent. Departures to the mainland are expected to peak on April 1 with about 86,000 people, while arriving passengers are expected to reach a peak of 102,000 on April 2. Daily traffic is expected to reach a high of 169,000 on April 1.

The department has arranged staff reinforcements to major land and sea checkpoints during the festive period.

The Lo Wu checkpoint will implement the contra-flow scheme to relieve congestion if needed. The department has, in association with Police, Customs, the transport department, the Kowloon-Canton Railway and Shenzhen authorities, set up a joint command center at Lo Wu, and contingency measures have been formed to handle any untoward incidents.

To enhance passenger flow and operational efficiency at land boundary control points, e-channels have been rolled out at Lok MaChau, with six e-channels each installed outside the arrival hall and departure hall. At Lo Wu, there are 98 e-channels, including 44 for departure and 54 for arrival.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2006)