Pinglu Canal Opens, Strengthening China-ASEAN Connectivity
From Siti Fauziah Hasan
QINZHOU (China) Sept 16 (Bernama) — The Pinglu Canal, a key project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, officially opened to shipping today, creating a new water transport corridor linking southwestern China with ASEAN and international markets.
The canal is also a landmark project in China’s efforts to build a transportation powerhouse.
Spanning 134.2 kilometres, the canal starts from the Pingtang Estuary in the Xijin Reservoir area of Hengzhou, Nanning, and enters the Beibu Gulf along the Qinjiang River through Luwu Town in Lingshan County, Qinzhou.
Wei Minxin, the engineer of the Pinglu Canal project, said the opening of the canal not only strengthens transport connectivity but also contributes to closer ties between China and ASEAN countries. The canal connects with the railway network in southwestern China and the Beibu Gulf port network, forming an integrated transport system involving waterways, railways and maritime routes, he added.
“Pinglu Canal serves as a major project and key hub of the New Western Land-Sea Trade Corridor,” he told reporters at the site here today.
Built to Class I inland waterway standards, the canal can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tonnes and, with shipping as its primary function, the project also integrates water supply, irrigation, flood prevention and aquatic environmental improvement. The project, which began construction in August 2022, has an estimated budget of about 72.7 billion yuan.
The Pinglu Canal provides a shorter, more economical and convenient water transport corridor from Guangxi and southwestern China to the ASEAN region. The new route is expected to reduce the inland river transport distance for goods by more than 560 kilometres compared with traditional routes.
The project is expected to accelerate the transformation of regional resources into economic strengths and promote the development of cross-border and trans-regional industrial and supply chains linking the ASEAN region, Beibu Gulf Economic Zone, Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
The canal is expected to serve as a strategic hub for China’s domestic and international dual-circulation development strategy, while contributing to the development of Guangxi and the broader western region.
The opening of the canal will also enable the Beibu Gulf Port to further develop from a seaport into a multimodal transport hub connecting southwestern China with domestic and international markets. The project incorporates a three-tier water-saving basin system, which can reduce water consumption by more than 60 per cent.
The Pinglu Canal also connects the new trade route with the China-Europe Railway Express network and cross-border shipping routes, further expanding China’s logistics connectivity with ASEAN countries.
— BERNAMA