China's water conservancy construction is facing unprecedented development opportunities. By 2025, the investment scale of water conservancy construction in China is expected to reach a historic high of 1.5 trillion yuan, with over 400 major water conservancy projects planned to be built or continued. This marks the fourth consecutive year that China's water conservancy construction has maintained a trillion yuan investment scale, with an investment of 1089.3 billion yuan in 2022, 1199.6 billion yuan in 2023, and 1352.9 billion yuan in 2024.

Super water conservancy project in planning

At present, China plans to invest over 50 billion yuan in more than 6 super water conservancy projects:

1. Sichuan Province's Da Ji Min Project

The total investment is 57.4 billion yuan, and the total construction period is 96 months. The project will draw water from the reservoir area of Luding Hydropower Station on the Dadu River. The total length of the water transmission line is 304 kilometers, and the annual water diversion volume is about 2.8 billion cubic meters. It will build a water resources allocation guarantee pattern with Dujiangyan Irrigation Project and the project of diverting water from the Dali River to the Minjiang River as the main water sources.

2. Jinghan Canal Project in Hubei Province

The total investment is about 78.4 billion yuan, and it is planned to build a 236 kilometer artificial canal that can accommodate ships of up to 10000 tons. The project starts from Songzikou in Songzi City, Jingzhou City and ends at Dongjing River mouth in Wuhan City, effectively solving the bottleneck problem of navigation in the Jingjiang River section.

3. Heishanxia Water Conservancy Hub on the Yellow River

The total investment is 91.5 billion yuan, the total installed capacity of the power station is 2.6 million kilowatts, and the annual power generation is 7.1 billion kilowatt hours. This project is the last canyon section in the upper reaches of the Yellow River where a high dam reservoir can be built, and the development and demonstration took more than 70 years.

4. Hunan Xianggui Canal

The total investment is about 150 billion yuan, with a planned total length of 300 kilometers. After completion, goods from the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River can be transported directly to the Beibu Gulf via the canal, reducing the distance by 1200 kilometers and lowering logistics costs by more than 30%.

5. Zhejiang Jiangxi Guangdong Grand Canal

The total investment is about 320 billion yuan, with a total length of 1988 kilometers, divided into the Jiangxi Guangdong section (1228 kilometers) and the Zhejiang Jiangxi section (760 kilometers). When completed, it will connect the Yangtze River and the Pearl River, making it the longest canal in the world.

6. South to North Water Diversion West Route Project

The total investment exceeds 320 billion yuan, and the first phase is planned to start construction in 2025, transferring 4 billion cubic meters of water from the Yalong River and Dadu River into the Yellow River. It is expected that the first phase of the water diversion channel will be completed in 2028 and the entire line will be connected by 2030.

Major water conservancy projects under construction

At present, there are at least 8 major water conservancy projects under construction with a scale of over 50 billion yuan:

1. South to North Water Diversion Middle Route River Diversion Project

The total investment is 58.2 billion yuan and the total construction period is 9 years. The project takes water from Longtan Creek on the left bank of the Three Gorges Reservoir area of the Yangtze River to Anle River downstream of Danjiangkou Reservoir, with a total length of 195 kilometers and an annual water intake of about 3.9 billion cubic meters.

2. Consolidation and upgrading project of embankments in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area

A total investment of 57.9 billion yuan will be made to reinforce the embankments and culverts in six cities including Guangzhou and Zhuhai to meet the standards. The total length of the embankments will be consolidated and improved by about 1251 kilometers, and 435 reinforced sluice stations will be built.

3. Yellow River Guxian Water Conservancy Hub Project

The total investment is about 61.4 billion yuan, and the total construction period is 114 months. The hub project is located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River from Qikou to Yumenkou, with Yichuan County in Shaanxi Province on the right bank and Jixian County in Shanxi Province on the left bank.

4. River regulation project in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

The total investment is 68 billion yuan, covering the systematic management of 320 kilometers of river channels from Wuhan to Nanjing. Focus on rectifying and improving bottleneck waterways such as the Jingjiang River section and the Wuhan Anqing section.

5. Guangxi Pinglu Canal Project

The total investment is 70 billion yuan, with a total length of about 134 kilometers from Nanning City in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the estuary of Qinzhou City. The construction of the entire line will start on August 28, 2023, and it is planned to be completed and open to navigation by the end of 2026.

6. Three Gorges Water Transport New Channel Project

The total investment is 76.6 billion yuan, including the Three Gorges Hub New Channel Project and the Gezhouba Shipping Capacity Expansion Project. The engineering design has a one-way annual throughput capacity of 100 million tons, which will greatly alleviate the navigation pressure of the Three Gorges Ship Lock.

7. Yunnan Central Yunnan Water Diversion Project

The total investment is 125.2 billion yuan, with a planned construction period of 96 months, and it is expected to be completed in October 2026. After the completion of the project, the average annual water intake will reach 3.4 billion cubic meters, which can effectively solve the water shortage problems in six prefectures and cities including Kunming and Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture.

8. Yarlung Zangbo River Hydropower Station

The total investment is 1.2 trillion yuan, with a planned installed capacity of 60 million kilowatts and an estimated annual power generation of 300 billion kilowatt hours. The project will commence substantial construction in July 2025, with plans to achieve partial unit power generation by 2030 and full operation by 2035.

These super water conservancy projects not only demonstrate the strong strength of China's infrastructure, but also provide sustainable Chinese solutions for global water resource development through a balance between technological innovation and ecological protection. With the gradual advancement of various projects, China's water resource allocation pattern will be significantly optimized, providing solid water security guarantees for economic and social development. (This article is from the official website www.seetao.com of Jian Dao. Reproduction without permission is prohibited, otherwise it will be prosecuted. Please indicate Jian Dao website+original link when reprinting.) Jian Dao website infrastructure engineering column editor/Yang Beihua