June 8, 2026, Yichang, Hubei. On the north side of the Three Gorges Dam area, the Three Gorges Water Transport New Channel Project has broken ground - this is the largest comprehensive project on the Yangtze River mainline that integrates water conservancy, shipping, and ecology after the Three Gorges Project. Half a month later, on July 23rd, the second phase of the water main project for the management of the Yangtze River Estuary South Channel began, and the large-scale paving ship, Captain Yan 19, entered the construction water area. One expands the chest in the upstream and the other increases muscle in the downstream, with two construction fronts echoing each other. The 15th Five Year Plan for Yangtze River Shipping starts from two construction sites simultaneously.

Two major super projects are advancing simultaneously

On July 24th, the Yangtze River Navigation Administration of the Ministry of Transport disclosed that in the first half of 2026, the Yangtze River mainline ports completed a cargo throughput of 1.97 billion tons and 14.218 million TEUs of containers, a year-on-year increase of 3.9%; Ensure the transportation of 500 million tons of key materials such as grain and energy, and serve the efficient transportation of 200000 new energy vehicles.

Two major projects of the 15th Five Year Plan have been successively implemented: the static total investment of the Three Gorges Water Transport New Channel is about 77.208 billion yuan, and a new double line continuous five level ship lock will be built. After completion, the total throughput capacity of the Three Gorges Hub will reach 336 million tons, and the Gezhouba Hub will reach 360 million tons. The second phase of the Yangtze River Estuary South Channel Management Project will construct 24 kilometers of beach protection and diversion embankments, and dredge 36 kilometers of channels. The water depth will be increased from 6 meters to 8 meters, achieving 5000 ton full tide navigation and 10000 ton full load tidal two-way navigation.

Yangtze River Shipping Enters a New Voyage

In terms of digital empowerment, the electronic waterway of the Yangtze River system has a connected mileage of 12165 kilometers, 1133 green ships have been built and under construction in the first half of the year, 246 energy refueling stations have achieved QR code refueling, and the delivery and disposal rate of ship pollutants exceeds 98%. The Yangtze River shipping industry is leveraging two mega projects as a pivot to create a smoother and greener golden waterway.Editor/Cheng Liting