en.Wedoany.com Reported - On June 30, Li Xinghu, Vice Minister of Transport of China, introduced at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the country's waterway infrastructure has reached a new level, with 469 new berths of 10,000-ton class and above, bringing the total to 3,061; the mileage of high-grade waterways has increased by 2,500 kilometers, reaching 18,500 kilometers. Three world-class port clusters in the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have been basically established. A number of major projects, such as the Pinglu Canal, are being accelerated, the 6-meter-deep waterway regulation project on the Yangtze River mainline from Wuhan to Anqing has been completed, the new Three Gorges water transport channel project has been initiated, and bottlenecks and blockages in inland waterways are being rapidly cleared.
Yang Huaxiong, Director of the Water Transport Bureau of the Ministry of Transport, stated that landmark water transport projects represented by the Pinglu Canal and the new Three Gorges water transport channel are advancing, while other major water transport projects are also progressing in an orderly manner. In terms of mainline waterways, the main body of the second phase of the Jingjiang River section channel regulation project in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has been completed, allowing 5,000-ton vessels to reach Chongqing year-round; the second phase of the Yangtze River South Channel regulation project commenced on May 26, and upon completion, 5,000-ton vessels will be able to navigate during all tides; the construction of the 3,000-ton channel project on the Xijiang River mainline from Nanning to Guigang is accelerating, and upon completion, 3,000-ton vessels will be able to navigate the entire Xijiang River mainline.
Important tributary waterways are being upgraded and improved at an accelerated pace. The Yuanhe River channel improvement project in Jiangxi Province will allow navigation of 1,000-ton vessels upon completion. The Minjiang River navigation and power comprehensive development project in Sichuan Province includes four cascade hubs and an 81-kilometer channel regulation project, expected to achieve full navigation by 2030, allowing 1,000-ton vessels to navigate the Leshan to Yibin section of the Minjiang River year-round. Bottlenecks and blockages in inland waterways are being continuously cleared; the Wujiang Baima navigation and power hub project is accelerating, and upon completion, it will open the "last mile" for waterway access from the Chongqing-Guizhou region to the Yangtze River; the Baise water control project navigation facility is progressing in an orderly manner, and upon completion, the Youjiang River will resume full navigation; the 1,000-ton navigation structure project at the Longtan hydropower station on the Hongshui River has commenced, and upon completion, the Hongshui River will achieve full navigation.
It is expected that during the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the construction of inland waterways nationwide will further accelerate, promoting the expansion of mainline waterways and continuously clearing bottlenecks and blockages, thereby improving the national comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network.
