Several significant water transport infrastructure projects have recently accelerated their construction timelines. On June 3, the Pinglu Canal achieved full water flow, entering a comprehensive water-based testing phase. On June 8, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Three Gorges Water Transport Channel project. These developments mark a period of rapid advancement for major waterway initiatives.
These large-scale water transport projects serve as crucial supports for enhancing cross-regional freight efficiency. They are also vital instruments for expanding effective investment and stimulating domestic demand to stabilize economic growth.
As the first major national landmark project to commence construction during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the new Three Gorges Water Transport Channel project involves a static total investment of approximately 77.208 billion yuan. The project's long construction cycle and substantial investment scale involve extensive earthwork excavation and concrete pouring. This requires large quantities of bulk raw materials, machinery, and electromechanical equipment, generating ripple effects across related upstream, midstream, and downstream industrial chains and creating a significant number of job opportunities.
The Han River Shipping Capacity Enhancement Project, with a total investment of about 209.16 billion yuan, is expected upon completion to attract large-scale investment in industries like new energy shipbuilding and circular chemical engineering. This will establish a "water transport infrastructure leading, industrial investment following" cyclical growth model. The fifth-phase project of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port Area, with a direct infrastructure investment of roughly 14.447 billion yuan, is projected to attract sustained investment from sectors such as cross-border e-commerce and port-side equipment manufacturing, thereby leveraging long-term investment in foreign trade and manufacturing. These major water transport projects stimulate demand in upstream and downstream industries through direct infrastructure spending and attract clusters of related industries by leveraging their ability to concentrate shipping factors, making them a key pillar in China's efforts to expand effective investment and stabilize the domestic demand base.
Vigorously promoting the construction of major water transport projects represents a targeted practice in China to resolve bottlenecks and choke points in the water transport network. This is conducive to improving the functional layout of the national high-grade waterway network and world-class port clusters, accelerating the construction of a modern, high-quality national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network.
The Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line, connecting the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on one end and reaching markets in Hong Kong and Macao on the other, serves as the "golden waterway" for southwestern goods to reach the sea. As freight traffic in the Pearl River Basin has become increasingly busy, the navigation capacity at key nodes of the Xijiang Trunk Line has approached saturation.
In 2017, the capacity expansion and upgrade project for the 3,000-ton-class channel on the Xijiang River (Jieshou to Zhaoqing) was completed. In 2024, the second phase of the 3,000-ton-class channel project for the Guigang to Wuzhou section of the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line was finished. The construction of capacity expansion and upgrade projects for the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line continues to advance, moving toward the goal of achieving a fully connected 3,000-ton-class channel.
The construction of these major water transport projects has led to a significant increase in transport capacity. In 2025, the annual cargo throughput of the Xijiang Ship Lock Joint Dispatch System reached 507 million tons. Among this, the Changzhou Ship Lock handled 224 million tons of cargo, maintaining its position as the ship lock on a natural river with the highest annual cargo throughput in China.
Advancing major water transport projects is beneficial for fully leveraging the comparative advantages of water transport, such as large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption, thereby effectively reducing overall social logistics costs.
On a map of China, the Yangtze River and the Huai River run north and south through Anhui province. Historically, these two major, nearly parallel rivers were separated by hills and could not be navigably connected.
On September 16, 2023, the Jianghuai Canal was fully opened for trial operation, achieving a "handshake" between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers within Anhui. The opening of the canal first brought tangible "logistics dividends."
Taking Fuyang Nanzhao Port as an example, after the canal opened, the voyage distance from Fuyang Nanzhao Port to Hefei Paihe Port became 247 kilometers, approximately 680 kilometers shorter than before, saving about 5 days. The distance to Tongling Henggang Port Area was reduced by about 435 kilometers, saving roughly 3 days.
The enhancement of transport capacity has driven a transformation in business development. Ports that previously could only handle bulk cargo like building materials and grains have shifted to handling containers, enabling goods of various categories, such as furniture and home appliances, to be transported by water.
Connecting rivers to the sea and linking domestic and international markets, major water transport projects play a significant role in advancing China's high-level opening-up.
On the Zhoushan Archipelago in Zhejiang, amidst a forest of pile drivers and the roar of machinery, the Fodu Container Terminal project in the Liuheng Port Area of Ningbo Zhoushan Port is under intense construction.
The first phase of this project commenced in September 2025, involving the construction of two 200,000-ton-class container berths. Work on drainage plates, onshore pile foundations, and surcharge preloading is in full swing, with a designed annual throughput capacity of 2.01 million TEUs. The second phase will add five more container berths of 200,000-ton-class and below, with a designed annual throughput capacity of 4.59 million TEUs.
The seven container berths of 200,000-ton-class and below aim to physically alleviate the "throughput constraints" of the core port area. In the future, this area will stand alongside the Meishan and Chuanshan port areas, collectively forming the largest and most influential ten-million-TEU-class container berth cluster within Ningbo Zhoushan Port, serving as a core support for Zhejiang's efforts to forge a world-class strong port.
Looking ahead, the focus will be on further smoothing the water transport cycle and continuously supporting economic and social development. The direction for future major water transport projects will involve further eliminating bottlenecks and choke points in inland waterway shipping, optimizing main trunk lines and major channels, building a modern high-grade waterway network, and enhancing the capacity and efficiency of port hubs. Future projects will further upgrade in the directions of greening, intelligence, and safety, continuing to leverage the advantages of water transport in terms of large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption. This will lay a solid water transport foundation for accelerating the building of China into a country with strong transportation and achieving high-quality economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
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