NDRC: During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period, China Will Build About 2,500 Km of New National High-Grade Waterway Channels

The National Development and Reform Commission held a press conference in its "Striving for the 15th Five-Year Plan" series to brief on efforts to consolidate development support. Xia Xin, Director of the Infrastructure Development Department of the NDRC, said that waterways are heavy-load corridors for low-cost transport. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, China will build about 2,500 km of national high-grade waterway channels and more than 100 automated terminal berths capable of handling 10,000-ton-class vessels or larger, basically completing a modern waterway transport system. Key tasks include: building world-class ports and strengthening the shipping service, industrial support, and resource allocation capabilities of the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao world-class port clusters; optimizing and upgrading bulk cargo and other transport functions of major ports; strengthening the connectivity of the inland waterway system; systematically enhancing the navigability of the Yangtze River trunk line; and steadily removing navigation bottlenecks on key interprovincial waterways. Major projects include accelerating the construction of the world-class Shanghai International Shipping Center, optimizing and upgrading the Yangtze River Delta and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao port clusters, actively developing the Southeast Coast and Beibu Gulf port clusters, and building a new Three Gorges waterway transport corridor. (Securities Times)