New Territories North (NTN) Regional Commander Cheung Siu-wah also attended the opening ceremony together with the working partners in the project and Mainland officials, including representatives from the Security Bureau, Immigration Department, Customs and Excise Department, Transport Department, Architectural Services Department, Health Department, KCRC, Balfour Beatty Lam, Mott Connell, Yellow Bus Company, the OCC project construction company, Able Engineering Co. Ltd., and Communications (COMMS) Branch.

The concept of a new Operations Command Centre was suggested by NTN Regional Commander a year ago during the visit to Hong Kong by Mr Zeng Qinghong, Vice President of the People's Republic of China.

After Mr Cheung had noted that the operations room was badly in need of upgrading, a project team was formed under the command of the Lok Ma Chau Divisional Commander. The project was completed on schedule and below budget, thanks to the hard work of many officers and technical advisers from COMMS Branch.

Consisting of an operations room and a conference room, the new Operations Command Centre enables officers to monitor all the areas from the San Tin Highway to the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point and the bridges to Huanggang via over 100 CCTV cameras on eight LCD monitors. There are also feeds from local TV stations to monitor events. The monitors can also be used to view the ECACCS, e-log system and Police E-Mail Network (PEN). The system has capacity for expansion. With the addition of microwave links, signals from all over the Border District, including the new Spur Line Terminus, can be linked to the new Operations Command Centre, giving flexibility in monitoring incidents along the boundary.

In addition to two fixed CC3 Radio stations and CC3 handsets, the OCC is also equipped with a Public Address System covering the Lok Ma Chau Boundary Control Point, which can be used for managing crowds, giving anti-crime advice and making public announcements.

The OCC is opened by Director of Operations Yam Tat-wing