On June 3rd, the Pinglu Canal achieved full water flow, entering a comprehensive water-based testing phase. On June 8th, the groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Three Gorges Water Transport Channel project. In recent times, several major water transport infrastructure initiatives have significantly accelerated their construction timelines.
These significant waterway projects are crucial for enhancing cross-regional freight efficiency. They also serve as vital instruments for expanding effective investment and stimulating domestic demand to support 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 has an estimated static total investment of approximately 77.208 billion yuan.
The Three Gorges Water Transport Channel project involves a long construction cycle and substantial investment scale, requiring extensive earthwork excavation, concrete pouring, and the use of vast quantities of bulk raw materials, machinery, and electromechanical equipment. This will generate ripple effects across related upstream, midstream, and downstream industrial chains and create a significant number of job opportunities.
The Han River Shipping Capacity Enhancement Project, with a total investment of around 209.16 billion yuan, is expected to attract large-scale investments in industries like new energy shipbuilding and circular chemicals upon completion. This will establish a cyclical growth model where "water transport infrastructure leads, followed by industrial investment."
The Phase V project of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port Area, with direct infrastructure investment of about 14.447 billion yuan, is projected to attract sustained investment from sectors like cross-border e-commerce and port-side equipment manufacturing upon completion, thereby leveraging long-term investment in foreign trade and manufacturing.
Major water transport projects drive demand in upstream and downstream industries through direct infrastructure spending. They also attract clusters of related industries by leveraging their shipping element aggregation capabilities, making them a key pillar in expanding effective investment and stabilizing the domestic demand foundation in China.
Advancing Key Infrastructure
Vigorously promoting the construction of major water transport projects represents a targeted effort to address bottlenecks and choke points within China's waterway network. This is conducive to improving the functional layout of the national high-grade waterway network and world-class port clusters, accelerating the establishment of a modern, high-quality national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network.
Linking the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau on one end and reaching markets in Hong Kong and Macao on the other, the Xijiang Shipping Trunk Line serves as a "golden waterway" for southwestern cargo 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-tonnage channel on the Xijiang River (Jieshou to Zhaoqing section) 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 continuous advancement of capacity enhancement projects for the Xijiang trunk line is progressing towards the goal of achieving a fully connected 3,000-tonnage channel.
Enhancing Transport Capacity and Efficiency
The construction of major water transport projects brings significant improvements in transport capacity. In 2025, the annual cargo throughput of the Xijiang River Lock Joint Dispatch System reached 507 million tons. Among this, the Changzhou Lock handled 224 million tons of cargo, maintaining its position as the lock on a natural river with the highest annual cargo throughput domestically.
Vigorously advancing major water transport projects helps fully leverage water transport's comparative advantages of large volume, 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 flow through Anhui province from south to north. Historically, these two nearly parallel major rivers were separated by ridges and could not be navigably connected. On September 16, 2023, the Jianghuai Canal commenced trial operations along its entire length, enabling a "handshake" connection between the Yangtze and Huai rivers within Anhui.
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 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 strengthening of transport capacity has driven business model transformation. Ports that previously only handled bulk cargo like construction materials and grain are now handling containers, allowing various goods such as furniture and home appliances to be transported via 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 equipment, 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. It will serve as a core pillar supporting Zhejiang's efforts to forge a world-class strong port.
Future Development Directions
Looking ahead, how will major water transport projects be developed? The focus will be on further unblocking choke points in inland waterway transport, optimizing main trunk lines and major channels, building a modern high-grade waterway network, and enhancing the capacity and function of port hubs.
Future major water transport projects will further upgrade in the directions of greening, intelligence, and safety. They will continue to leverage the advantages of large volume, low cost, and low energy consumption inherent to water transport. This will lay a solid water transport foundation for accelerating the building of a strong transportation nation and achieving high-quality economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period.
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