HONG KONG, Feb. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Next Generation Electronic Passport System is expected to be introduced in Hong Kong in the second quarter of this year, the Immigration Department of the government of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) said on Friday.

The system will be introduced together with the launch of the new version of electronic passports.

The new electronic passport has a number of up-to-date security features, said Director of Immigration Tsang Kwok-wai.

In 2018, the department issued more than 700,000 HKSAR passports.

Meanwhile, the department said Panama and Armenia will grant visa-free access to HKSAR passport holders, starting from Feb. 10 and March 3 respectively.