On June 3rd, the Pinglu Canal achieved full water flow, entering the comprehensive water-based testing phase. On June 8th, the construction of the new Three Gorges Waterway Project broke ground... In recent times, a series of major water transport infrastructure projects have significantly accelerated their development pace.
These major water transport projects are crucial for enhancing cross-regional freight efficiency and serve as important levers 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 Waterway Project has a total static investment of approximately 77.208 billion yuan.
"The construction cycle for the new Three Gorges Waterway Project is long with a large-scale investment. It involves extensive earth and rock excavation, concrete pouring, and requires substantial 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 jobs," said Zhang Yunchang, a first-level inspector at the Three Gorges Project Management Department of the Ministry of Water Resources.
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 like new energy shipbuilding and circular chemicals upon completion, forming a cyclical driving model of "water transport infrastructure first, followed by industrial investment." The fifth-phase project of Guangzhou Port's Nansha Port Area, 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 investment in foreign trade and manufacturing... Major waterway projects, through direct infrastructure investment, stimulate demand in upstream and downstream industries. By leveraging their ability to aggregate shipping factors, they attract clusters of related industries to establish themselves. This makes them a vital pillar in China's efforts to expand effective investment and stabilize the fundamental domestic demand.
Vigorously advancing the construction of major water transport projects is a key practice in China's targeted effort 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 transport network.
Connecting the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau at one end and reaching the Hong Kong and Macao markets at the other, the Xijiang shipping trunk line is the "golden waterway" for southwestern goods to reach the sea. With increasing freight activity in the Pearl River Basin, the navigation capacity at key nodes of the Xijiang trunk line is nearing saturation.
In 2017, the capacity expansion and upgrade project for the 3000-tonnage channel of the Xijiang River (Jieshou to Zhaoqing) was completed. In 2024, the second phase of the 3000-tonnage channel project for the Guigang to Wuzhou section of the Xijiang trunk line was finished... The construction of capacity expansion and upgrade projects for the Xijiang trunk line continues to advance, moving towards the goal of full 3000-tonnage channel connectivity.
The construction of major water transport projects brings about a significant enhancement in transport capacity. In 2025, the annual cargo throughput of the Xijiang River 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 natural river ship lock with the highest annual cargo throughput in China.
Advancing the construction of major water transport projects helps fully leverage the comparative advantages of water transport in terms of large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption, effectively reducing overall social logistics costs.
Spreading out a map of China, the Yangtze River and the Huai River flow through Anhui from south to north. In the past, these two major rivers ran almost parallel but were separated by hills, making navigation between them impossible.
On September 16, 2023, the Jianghuai Canal commenced full trial operations, enabling the Yangtze and Huai rivers to "shake hands" within Anhui province. The opening of the canal first brought tangible "logistics dividends" in terms of cost savings.
Taking Fuyang Nanzhao Port as an example, after the canal opened, the voyage from Fuyang Nanzhao Port to Hefei Paihe Port is 247 kilometers, approximately 680 kilometers shorter than before, saving about 5 days. The voyage to Tongling Henggang Port Area is about 435 kilometers shorter than before, saving roughly 3 days.
The strengthening of transport capacity has led to a transformation in business development. "Previously, the port could only handle bulk cargo like building materials and grain. Now, we've switched to containers, and goods of various categories such as furniture and home appliances can all be transported by water," said Yang Feng, General Manager of Fuyang Yingzhou Port Co., Ltd.
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, 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, land-based 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 resolve the 'throughput bottleneck' 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 in Ningbo Zhoushan Port. It will serve as a solid foundation for Zhejiang to forge a world-class strong port," said Han Lu, Chairman of Zhejiang Seaport Fodu Container Terminal Co., Ltd.
To further unblock the water transport cycle and continuously support economic and social development, how will major water transport projects be constructed in the future?
"We will further eliminate bottlenecks and choke points in inland waterway transport, focus on optimizing main trunk lines and major channels, build a modern high-grade waterway network, and enhance the capacity and efficiency of port hubs," stated a relevant official from the Ministry of Transport. In the future, major water transport projects will be further upgraded towards greener, smarter, and safer directions. They will continue to leverage the advantages of water transport in large capacity, low cost, and low energy consumption, laying 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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