Construction should be completed in 2026. (Image: China government)
is rapidly developing its transport infrastructure, investing billions of pounds in various ambitious projects.
The money has gone to build new roads, , high-speed rail links, and expand port capacities – to name but a few.
is also keen to increase connectivity across the country through its rivers.
As a result, a major £8 billion project has been underway in southwest , that is expected to be completed by 2026.
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The canal will be 134 kilometres long. (Image: China government)
The Pinglu Canal will stretch 134 kilometres from the Xijin Reservoir, near Guangxi’s capital city of Nanning, to the port of Qinzhou in the south.
It is the first direct river-to-sea canal project since the People’s Republic of was founded in 1949.
The waterway will be able to accommodate 5,000-tonne ships when it is finally completed.
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Work commenced on the canal in 2019. (Image: China government)
Yang Bin, general manager of Pinglu Canal Group, said that 2025 would be a crucial year for the project.
“The Pinglu Canal holds immense economic and social value,” he told a session of the 14th People’s Congress of Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
He emphasised that the canal’s integration with the Beibu Gulf waterway network will enhance connectivity between domestic and international markets.
The canal is expected to shorten the shipping distance from inland river systems to the sea by 560 km compared to going through Guangzhou.
The canal’s construction involved huge excavations and required a large amount of earth removal.
Officials say an estimated 340 million cubic meters of dirt and rocks will be cleared away to make way for version of the Suez Canal.
The canal is also aimed at boosting growing trade with the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, all of which are grouped with China under the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) free trade framework.