Bangkok: China has begun construction of a massive "waterway" project on the world's third-longest river.
According to Thai News Agency, on Monday (June 8), China has begun construction of a massive waterway development project on the Yangtze River, worth 77.2 billion yuan (approximately 373 billion baht). This includes the construction of what is expected to be the world's largest inland shiplock, to accommodate the ever-increasing demand for water transport on the Yangtze River, the world's third-longest river.
Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for a new waterway project in the Three Gorges area on Monday (June 8) in Yichang, Hubei province, central China.
The project will construct a five-stage navigation lock and two shipping lanes in the area north of the existing lock at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest water conservation and management project. It will also improve navigation infrastructure at smaller downstream dams. Upon completion, the project will nearly double the cargo handling capacity through the Three Gorges Dam to 336 million tons per year.
This project is considered the first major project to be constructed during China's 15th Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development (2026-2030), a crucial period in pushing the country towards achieving its basic socialist modernization goal by 2035.