Empowering Huanggang Port: Over 100 KONE elevators and escalators unlock vertical flow design
- As sole supplier, KONE provides all 184 units to Huanggang Port, enabling vertical flow design for 300,000 daily passengers
- One-year execution under dual Hong Kong-Shenzhen standards delivers fully integrated cross-border project execution
- Introduces 24/7 connected services to enable predictive maintenance, leveraging real-time data and AI for seamless, 24-hour port operations
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 October 2026 – The Huanggang Port—the world's largest land port and the only 24-hour passenger link between Hong Kong and Shenzhen—is officially opened.
Unlike the traditional horizontal border-crossing layouts, the port adopts an innovative vertical passenger flow design fully equipped with all 184 elevators and escalators exclusively provided by Finnish's KONE. Spanning the 9-story complex, this people flow solution is expected to slash transit times from 30 minutes to just 5 minutes for up to 300,000 daily passengers.
184 elevators and escalators across 9 levels deliver seamless vertical passenger flow
Breaking away from traditional clearance layouts, the Huanggang Port utilizes the height of its nine-story complex to create a vertical passenger flow arrangement, with immigration facilities on different levels to free up ground-level space for public transit. To bring this seamless experience to life, KONE supplied all 184 elevators and escalators, including 102 elevators equipped with regenerative drive technology and 82 escalators. Notably, the escalators feature a maximum rise of 19.2 meters, while the elevators can accommodate loads of up to 12 tons. This solution is designed to support the port's daily capacity of 300,000 passengers, significantly reducing walking distances and waiting times, while relieving traffic congestion especially during peak periods after large-scale events.
Digital predictive maintenance supports 24-Hour operations
As the only 24-hour land checkpoint between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, the port demands utmost equipment reliability. KONE 24/7 connected services continuously monitors all units, leveraging real-time data and AI technology to identify potential risks in advance. By shifting from reactive to predictive maintenance, this digital solution enables seamless, round-the-clock operations. During over a hundred pre-opening drills, all KONE equipment successfully passed the 20,000-person Shenzhen-Hong Kong boundary-crossing pressure test. This not only validates its ultimate stability but also underscores our strong capacity to handle massive passenger surges. Looking ahead, KONE aims to integrate elevator and escalator data with building systems to drive passenger flow analysis, operational planning, and resource optimization.
Cross-border collaboration elevates service integration across GBA
Navigating the different regulations of Hong Kong and Shenzhen within a complex cross-border environment, KONE completed the installation and commissioning of all 184 units in just one year. Reflecting on KONE's capabilities in cross-border project execution, Mr. Eric Xie, Senior Vice President of KONE Bay Region and Managing Director of KONE Hong Kong, said, "To meet the growing infrastructure demands of the Greater Bay Area, KONE has optimized its strategic setup in the region by closely integrating our Hong Kong and Shenzhen services. This investment not only strengthens our supply chain but also accelerates the delivery speed of elevator and escalator parts. By pairing Hong Kong's world-class service standards with Shenzhen's local technical talent and strategic location, we have built a powerful regional support network to fuel the future development of the GBA."
From Luohu and Liantang to the Huanggang Port, KONE is one of the few companies capable of delivering complex cross-border projects. Driven by our seamless cross-border synergy, KONE remains committed to supporting public infrastructure, commercial developments, and rail transit projects, contributing to the region's ongoing development.
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About KONE
At KONE, our purpose is to shape the future of cities. As a global leader in the elevator and escalator industry, we move two billion people every day, making their journeys safe, convenient, and reliable with smart and sustainable People Flow®. In 2025, KONE had annual sales of EUR 11.2 billion, and at the end of the year over 60,000 employees in close to 70 countries. KONE class B shares are listed on the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd. in Finland.
www.kone.com
