On July 1, 2025, the National Development and Reform Commission officially approved the overall plan of the "Pinglu Canal" project, which is a super project with a total investment of 130 billion yuan. As China's largest comprehensive infrastructure project after the Three Gorges Project, the Pinglu Canal will open up the two major water systems of the Pearl River and the Yangtze River, and build a "golden waterway" across southern China.
The project of the century that has been dreamed of for a hundred years
The Pinglu Canal is planned to be about 135 kilometers long, starting from the Pingtang River Estuary in Nanning, Guangxi Province in the north, and ending in Luwu Town, Qinzhou in the south into the Beibu Gulf. The project, which includes three world-class locks, seven bridges across the river and 23 ecological restoration areas, will enable 5,000-ton ships to reach the southwest hinterland directly, shortening the distance by 560 kilometers compared with the existing Xijiang-Pearl River route. Zhang Jianyun, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, pointed out: "This is the first canal project in China that connects different river basins since the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, which will reshape the pattern of inland waterway shipping in the country."
A model of green infrastructure
The project adopts the construction concept of "ecological priority": the innovative design of the "fish passage + ecological lock" system to ensure fish migration, the use of BIM technology to optimize the earthwork balance to reduce ecological disturbance, and the simultaneous construction of 50 kilometers of ecological corridors along the coast. The specially introduced "smart water transport" system realizes precise ship scheduling through Beidou navigation and 5G technology, which is expected to reduce shipping carbon emissions by 30%. According to the assessment of the Ministry of Natural Resources, the protection measures of the karst landform along the route have reached the international leading level.
A strong engine for regional development
It is estimated that the annual freight volume of the canal can reach 150 million tons, which is equivalent to the construction of 10 new freight railways. This will increase the transportation capacity of the new western land-sea corridor by 40%, and drive the formation of industrial clusters such as equipment manufacturing and port logistics along the route. Guangxi Beibu Gulf International Port Group has planned to build three canal economic zones, which are expected to create 120,000 jobs. More far-reaching, the canal will activate the "river-sea linkage" between the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and promote the formation of a new development pattern of "dual circulation".
The person in charge of the State Water Transport Administration said that the Pinglu Canal is a landmark project in the new era to practice the concept of "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets". With the completion of the main project in 2028, China will form the world's largest high-grade inland waterway network with a total length of more than 30,000 kilometers, providing a "Chinese solution" for the development of global inland waterway shipping. This project of the century, which carries the dream of becoming a transportation power, is writing a new chapter in the miracle of infrastructure.(This article is from the official website of Seetao www.seetao.com. Reprinting without permission is strictly prohibited. Please indicate Seetao.com + original link when reprinting) Seetao.com Strategy Column Editor/Sun Fengjuan
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