China’s game-changing Pinglu Canal project will be the first of the country’s many new waterways as the Asian giant pours billions of pounds into the construction industry.
The Pinglu Canal is currently one of the biggest construction projects in the world, but surprisingly it is the first canal to be built in China since the country’s Communist Revolution in 1949.
The canal, owned by the Pinglu Canal Group Company Limited, and being built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), has an estimated budget of 72.7 billion yuan, or £7.9 billion.
China’s rapid-paced development will see the groundbreaking 132.4km-long waterway open after just four years of work. Construction began in August 2022, with a scheduled end date of 2026 – only two years away.
It helps that the waterway will mostly use existing water courses and will only require 6.5km of new canal construction.
By August last year, Chinese authorities reported that more than 50 million cubic meters of earth and stone had already been moved on the project.
Three locks will be built, including what will be the world’s largest water-conserving ship lock. The locks will be capable of accommodating vessels of the 5000-tonne class.
The waterway will link Nanning, the capital of the province of Guangxi with the sea, and is set to reduce the existing shipping distance by approximately 560 km.
It is hoped that the waterway can facilitate trade with Southeast Asian nations, particularly the ten-member ASEAN, a political and economic union that makes up some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
When construction began on the project, Wu Peng, an expert in the planning and design of the Pinglu Canal project, said: “The Pinglu Canal will be a pioneering feat in the history of canal construction in China, as it is the largest canal of its kind. Inland ships can sail directly to the seaport.
“Upon completion, it will become a very busy canal noted for a large volume of freights, large-tonnage ships and a large number of vessels.”
The new canal is the first of what could be a wider canal-building scheme by the Chinese government aiming to link the country’s Yangtze and Pearl rivers which mostly flow from west to east.
In 2019, the government announced it was also considering works on two more canals; the Ganyue Canal, connecting Jiangxi and Guangdong and restoring the Xianggui Canal, linking Hunan and Guangxi.