On December 29, 2025, a major bottleneck project listed as the Sichuan Province's "Smooth One River Campaign" - the Fujiang Sanxing Ship Lock Project officially started construction in Pengxi County, Suining City, at the border of Sichuan and Chongqing. This not only marks the full launch of the first phase of the Fu River Suining section resumption project, but also means that Sichuan and Chongqing are working together to overcome the last obstacle to shipping on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and a new golden waterway for Sichuan goods to export from Sichuan is accelerating from blueprint to reality.

The key link to the opening and resumption of navigation of Sanxing Ship Lock

The Fujiang River, as the largest tributary on the right bank of the Jialing River and one of the six major water systems in Sichuan, has historically been an important shipping channel in the central Sichuan region. In recent years, with the construction of cascade hydropower hubs, the existing navigation facilities have gradually become a "intestinal obstruction" that restricts the revival of water transportation. Among them, the Sanxing Power Station located at the junction of Sichuan and Chongqing has been identified as the most critical checkpoint.

The core task of the first phase of the Fujiang Suining section resumption project launched for this purpose is to overcome difficulties. As a leading project, the Sanxing Ship Lock Project will build a new three-level ship lock on the left bank of the power station and carry out systematic rectification of the downstream waterway of about 10 kilometers. The design standard of this ship lock is high, and the representative ship type is a 1000 ton dry bulk carrier. The design capacity for one-way annual cargo passing through the lock is as high as 14.67 million tons, which is sufficient to undertake the main transportation of bulk materials in the future. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2028, which is a decisive step in ensuring the smooth flow of the downstream waterway of the Fujiang River.

Port gate linkage

The resumption project is not a single breakthrough, but a systematic and modern construction of a shipping hub system. The first phase of the Suining Port Dashaba operation area, located in Laochi Town, Chuanshan District, Suining City, is advancing synchronously with the Sanxing Ship Lock.

This operation area will build three 1000 ton berths, which can also accommodate 2000 ton berths. The annual designed throughput capacity will reach 2.1 million tons, and supporting port access roads will be constructed to reserve interfaces for future integration into the railway logistics network. This layout clearly indicates that the future Suining Port will not only be a cargo transfer station, but also a regional logistics hub with the potential for intermodal transportation of public transportation and iron. The linkage construction between ports and gates aims to form a comprehensive transportation system with smooth waterways, efficient ports, and seamless connections, maximizing the low-cost and high-capacity advantages of water transportation.

Drawing up a blueprint for a new waterway connecting the river and the sea

The construction of Sanxing Ship Lock is a vivid manifestation of the close cooperation and joint revitalization of Fujiang shipping between Sichuan and Chongqing. While making efforts to tackle the challenges in the Sichuan section, the 126 kilometer waterway improvement project in the Chongqing section of the Fujiang River has also begun. The capacity expansion and upgrading projects of the Weituo, Fujinba, and Anju ship locks within its territory will be launched one after another. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering construction news

According to the plan, by 2028, with the completion of the projects on both sides of Sichuan and Chongqing, the section of Fujiang River from Suining to Hechuan in Chongqing will be fully reopened; By 2030, this section of the waterway will reach the navigation standard for ships of 1000 tons. This means that Sichuan will add a high-grade water transportation channel that connects directly to the Yangtze River via the Fujiang Jialing River. Looking ahead to the 15th Five Year Plan, Suining will also initiate research and demonstration on the upstream ship lock project, with the ultimate goal of achieving full navigation of the Fujiang River. The connection of this golden waterway will profoundly change the economic and geographical pattern of the central and northeastern Sichuan regions, injecting strong water sports energy into the construction of the Chengdu Chongqing economic circle.Editor/Cheng Liting