Recently, the preliminary design of the waterway regulation project for the non-connected section from Danjiangkou to Xiangyang on the Hanjiang River has been officially approved, and the relevant special research has been successfully completed as planned. In addition, the preliminary design of the 2,000-ton second-line ship lock at the Xinglong hub of the Hanjiang River was also approved at the end of May. These developments indicate that the preliminary work of the Hanjiang main channel project included in the "14th Five-Year Plan" of the Ministry of Transport has been basically completed, and the high-quality development of the Hanjiang waterway has entered a new stage.

As a key component of the Han-Xiang-Guangxi Channel of the "Four Verticals, Four Horizontals and Two Networks" in the "Outline of the National Comprehensive Three-dimensional Transportation Network Planning", the importance of the Hanjiang National High-Grade Waterway is self-evident. Since 2024, the transportation department of Hubei Province has seized major national strategic opportunities such as the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the construction of a strong transportation country, adhered to the integrated development strategy of the Hanjiang River, and is committed to promoting the high-quality development of the Hanjiang River. It has also accelerated the construction of a batch, started a batch, and planned a batch of projects through a step-by-step promotion mechanism to comprehensively promote the high-quality development of the Hanjiang waterway.

As a pilot project for a strong transportation nation, the construction of modern inland waterway transportation in Hubei Province is accelerating. Among them, the total investment of the 2,000-ton waterway regulation project from Xinglong to Caidian on the Han River is as high as 2 billion yuan. At present, the construction of the first section is in full swing, and the bidding for other main engineering sections has been completed. The entire project is expected to be fully completed in 2026. In addition, the 2,000-ton second-line ship lock at the Xinglong hub of the Han River and the waterway regulation project of the non-connected section from Danjiangkou to Xiangyang are also being intensively prepared for various pre-construction works, and are scheduled to start construction within the year.

In order to further promote the high-quality development of water transportation, the Provincial Port and Shipping Development Center is actively strengthening the element guarantee, and carefully planning and promoting the preliminary work of key projects of 3 ship locks and 1 waterway, including the 2,000-ton second-line ship locks at the Cuijiaying hub, Nianpanshan hub, and Yakou hub of the Han River, and the 2,000-ton waterway regulation project from Nianpanshan to Xinglong on the Han River. These projects are aimed at filling the gaps in water transport infrastructure construction and striving to be included in the Ministry of Transport's 15th Five-Year Plan to achieve high-quality development of water transport in the province.Editor/Cheng Ting