On June 3rd, the Pinglu Canal achieved full water connectivity, entering a comprehensive water-based testing phase. On June 8th, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel project... In recent times, several major water transport projects have accelerated their construction pace. These significant projects are crucial for enhancing cross-regional freight efficiency and serve as key drivers for expanding effective investment and stimulating domestic demand to stabilize growth. As the first major national landmark project to commence construction during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, the Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel project has a total static investment of approximately 77.208 billion yuan.
Zhang Yunchang, a first-level inspector at the Three Gorges Project Management Department of the Ministry of Water Resources, stated, "The Three Gorges New Water Transport Channel project has a long construction cycle and involves a massive scale of investment, requiring extensive earth and rock excavation, concrete pouring, and the use of large quantities of bulk raw materials, machinery, and electromechanical equipment. This will have a driving effect on related upstream, midstream, and downstream industrial chains and will create 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 to attract large-scale investments in industries such as new energy shipbuilding and circular chemical manufacturing upon completion, forming a cyclical driving model where "water transport infrastructure leads, followed by industrial investment." The Guangzhou Port Nansha Port Area Phase V Project, with direct infrastructure investment of about 14.447 billion yuan, will attract sustained investment from cross-border e-commerce and port-side equipment manufacturing enterprises upon completion, leveraging long-term investments in foreign trade and manufacturing... Major water transport projects drive demand in upstream and downstream industries through direct infrastructure investment and attract clusters of related industries by leveraging their ability to aggregate shipping elements, making them one of the important pillars for expanding effective investment and stabilizing the domestic demand base in China.
Advancing Key Water Transport Infrastructure
Vigorously promoting the construction of major water transport projects is a key practice in China's targeted efforts to resolve bottlenecks and congestion 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, and accelerating the construction of a modern, high-quality national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network. Connecting the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on one end and reaching the markets of Hong Kong and Macao on the other, the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line is the "golden waterway" for southwestern goods to reach the sea. As freight traffic in the Pearl River Basin becomes increasingly busy, the navigation capacity at key nodes of the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line is approaching saturation. In 2017, the capacity expansion and upgrade project for the 3,000-tonnage channel of the Xijiang River (Jieshou to Zhaoqing) was completed; in 2024, the second phase of the 3,000-tonnage channel project for the Guigang to Wuzhou section of the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line was finished... The capacity expansion and upgrade projects for the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line continue to advance steadily, moving towards the goal of achieving a fully connected 3,000-tonnage channel.
Enhancing Transport Capacity and Efficiency
The construction of major water transport projects leads to a significant enhancement in transport capacity. In 2025, the annual cargo throughput of the Xijiang Lock Joint Dispatch System reached 507 million tons, with the Changzhou Lock handling 224 million tons of cargo, maintaining its position as the lock with the highest annual cargo throughput on natural rivers in China. Vigorously promoting the construction of major water transport projects helps to fully leverage the comparative advantages of water transport, such as large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption, effectively reducing overall social logistics costs. Looking at the map of China, the Yangtze River and the Huai River run through Anhui from south to north. In the past, these two nearly parallel major rivers were separated by hills and could not be navigated. On September 16, 2023, the Jianghuai Canal commenced trial operation along its entire length, achieving a "handshake" between the Yangtze and Huai Rivers within Anhui province. The opening of the canal first brought tangible "logistics dividends." Taking the Fuyang Nanzhao Port as an example, after the canal opened, the shipping distance from Fuyang Nanzhao Port to Hefei Pahe Port is 247 kilometers, approximately 680 kilometers shorter than before, saving about 5 days; the distance to Tongling Henggang Port Area is about 435 kilometers shorter, saving about 3 days.
The strengthening of transport capacity has driven a transformation in business development. Yang Feng, General Manager of Fuyang Yingzhou Port Co., Ltd., said, "Previously, the port could only handle bulk cargo like building materials and grains. Now, we've switched to containers, and goods of various categories such as furniture and home appliances can 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 Islands in Zhejiang, with piles of machinery and roaring engines, the Fodu Container Terminal project in the Liuheng Port Area of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port is under intense construction. The first phase of this project started in September 2025, involving the construction of two 200,000-ton-class container berths, with comprehensive construction underway for drainage plates, onshore pile foundations, and surcharge preloading. Its designed annual throughput capacity is 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.
Han Lu, Chairman of Zhejiang Seaport Fodu Container Terminal Co., Ltd., said, "The seven container berths of 200,000-ton-class and below aim to physically resolve the 'throughput bottleneck' of the core port area. In the future, this area will stand alongside the Meishan Port Area and the Chuanshan Port Area, collectively forming the largest and most influential ten-million-TEU-class container berth cluster of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, becoming a solid support for Zhejiang in forging a world-class strong port." Further smoothing the water transport cycle and continuously supporting economic and social development. How will major water transport projects be constructed in the future? "We will further unblock bottlenecks and congestion points in inland waterway shipping, focus on optimizing main trunk lines and major channels, build a modern high-grade waterway network, and enhance the capacity and capability of port hubs," said a relevant official from the Ministry of Transport. Future major water transport projects will further focus on upgrading quality in the directions of greening, intelligentization, and safety, continuously leveraging the advantages of water transport's large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption, to lay a solid water transport foundation for accelerating the construction of a strong transportation country and achieving high-quality economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
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