News

'Golden routes' propel regional development

By Pan Yi (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-01 08:25

City of Wuzhou, Guangxi is a regional water transport hub. Provided to China Daily

The Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has an ambitious plan to build a "golden waterway system" for economic development and to provide a shipping channel for neighboring provinces.

The Xijiang River golden waterway plan, which was approved by the central government in 2010, will need 74.2 billion yuan ($11.44 billion), 40.6 billion yuan of that, before 2012.

Authorities expect work on the Xijiang River system to be completed by 2012. In addition to benefiting the autonomous region, it is expected to benefit Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangdong provinces and the special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao.

Some estimates put the waterway's shipping capacity at the same level as the five railways that serve the Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao region. Proposed ocean-river shipping routes would mean new ways to develop the economy of Guangxi.

By 2012, total cargo handling capacity of inland river ports is expected to increase by more than 77 million tons, to more than 100 million tons, according to Huang Huakuan, executive deputy director of the Xijiang golden waterway construction office.

By then, the waterway will basically consist of a 2,000-ton per year shipping route from Guigang to Wuzhou, a 1,000-ton route on the Youjiang river, and a 500-ton route on the Liuqian and the Honghe rivers.

By 2020, the 1,480 kilometers of routes linking the cities of Nanning, Guigang, Wuzhou, Baise, Laibin, Liuzhou and Chongzuo will all be upgraded to the 1,000-ton level.

In addition, sections of routes downstream from Nanning, Laibin and Liuzhou will be able to accommodate 2,000-tonnage vessels. And, the section downstream from Guigang will be able to accommodate 3,000-tonnage ships, Huang explained.

Huang said that the shipping routes would benefit the four provinces and the regions they pass through and be significant for developing 45 prefecture-level cities and more than 200 counties.

"The golden shipping route has the full support of top leaders and has had a good response from the provinces and regions along the way. Premier Wen Jiabao has pointed to the importance of the system, comparing it with the Yangtze and Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. Vice-Premier Zhang Dejiang has said that the shipping system is the 'correct strategic plan'," said Guo Shengkun, chairman of the Guangxi People's Congress and secretary of the Guangxi Party committee.

(China Daily 06/01/2011 page20)