Three Gorges Dam exceeds cargo target set for 2030
May-27-2014 By : agxadmin
The Three Gorges Dam, the world’s largest hydropower project, has reached its shipping capacity and already exceeds the target set for 2030, the Ministry of Transport said. One of the key benefits of the vast infrastructure project was an increase in shipping capacity, but now engineers are struggling with the challenge of how to provide more room for cargo on the Yangtze river. The dam has made the river deeper and slower, allowing for easier navigation – especially upstream – for cargo and passenger vessels. The limiting factor for cargo, however, is the capacity of a five-step lock and a soon-to-be-completed ship lift to transport vessels across the 181-meter high dam. “We estimate the throughput of the five-tier ship lock of the Three Gorges Dam will hit 110 million tons this year, far beyond our expectations,” Li Yang, Deputy Director of the Policy Research Department of the Ministry of Transport, said at a press conference in Beijing. “The shipping capacity of the three Gorges Dam’s lock is already full.” Li said the project was designed in the 1980s when experts estimated that less than 100 million tons of shipping would pass through each year before 2030. The tonnage of shipping using the five-tier lock exceeded 100 million for the first time in 2011, more than five times the level before the dam was constructed. It reached a record high of 100.06 million tons last year, representing 40,848 cargo vessels and 2,461 passenger ships, or 300,000 tons per day. In normal conditions, ships need to wait an average of 40 hours to get through the locks. Li said a new ship lift would be completed by July next year. “But the lift’s annual throughput capacity of cargo will be just 6 million tons,” he added. The Yangtze river is the leading means to transport cargo in the mountainous Three Gorges area, the China Daily reports.
Draft law on protection of waterways tabled
Apr-30-2014 By : agxadmin
During the bimonthly session of the National People’s Congress Standing Committee in April, lawmakers reviewed a draft law on the protection of waterways. According to the draft, the punishment for destroying waterways will be enhanced, and those responsible for illegal construction could face fines of up to CNY1 million. Xie Manying, Deputy Director of the Waterways Transportation Bureau with the Ministry of Transport, said that China’s inland waterways have shrunk from 170,000 km 50 years ago to 130,000 km due to lack of protection. Local governments often blame funding shortages for failing to maintain waterways.
Nicaragua approves building of new canal
Jun-20-2013 By : agxadmin
The Nicaraguan Congress has approved a proposal to have a canal built linking the Pacific and the Atlantic Oceans. A Hong Kong-based company – the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Co (HKND) – has been granted a 50-year concession to build the waterway, which will rival the Panama Canal. Development plans include two free-trade zones, a railway, an oil pipeline and airports. HKND is headed by Chinese lawyer Wang Jing, who also leads Xinwei Telecom Enterprise Group, which last year received a cellphone concession in Nicaragua. “Central America is at the center of North-South and East-West global trade flows, and we believe Nicaragua provides the perfect location for a new international shipping and logistics hub,” Wang said in a statement after the plan’s approval. Feasibility studies are expected to be completed by 2015, when work on the canal could begin. Any design would almost certainly bisect Lake Nicaragua. The channel would likely be three times longer than the 77-kilometer Panama Canal, which took the U.S. a decade to build at the narrowest part of the isthmus. It was completed in 1914.
Taicang port profits from being close to Shanghai
Apr-25-2013 By : agxadmin
China Taicang Port Development Zone, the largest foreign trade port area in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, has become a key production base for manufacturers from China and abroad. Located at the southern bank of the Yangtze river estuary, the zone covers an area of 261.8 square kilometers and now hosts 26 Fortune 500 companies, including big names like Procter & Gamble and BP Global. Some 25 state-owned enterprises and 15 U.S. companies have also invested in the area in the past few years. The short travel distance between Shanghai and Taicang allows companies to transport goods conveniently. The port of Taicang occupies some 38.8 kilometers of waterfront on the Yangtze river and features well-developed deep-draft berths. By the end of 2012, Taicang Port had built 28 berths for 10,000 DWT vessels, including 10 container berths. Its cargo capacity has reached 97 million tons, with container throughput amounting to 4.35 million TEU. In the near future, the port will have 172 productive berths, including 82 berths capable of accommodating 10,000 DWT vessels. Its planned cargo throughput will reach 282 million tons, and container throughput is expected to be 21million TEU annually. Founded in 1992, the zone was upgraded to a national high-tech zone in 2011. Last year, the gross regional product of the zone reached CNY21.6 billion, with the industrial output value amounting to CNY73.6 billion. With a history of more than 15 years, the zone has become one of the key high-tech parks for the petrol and chemical industries in China. It is also the most important economic zone in the Yangtze River Delta, the China Daily reports.
Chongqing to become major inland shipping hub
Jun-07-2012 By : agxadmin
“During the 12th Five Year Plan period [from 2011 to 2015], our city will invest CNY20 billion to accelerate the development of Chongqing as an upstream shipping center along the Yangtze River,” said senior Chongqing transport official Teng Hongwei at a seminar. The city’s goal of becoming a major shipping hub along the upper Yangtze river should be accomplished by 2015, Teng added. Last year, Chongqing’s river trade reached 120 million tons. “The Yangtze river will be a very important trade channel. With the shift of manufacturing to Western China from coastal regions, more goods will pass through the Yangtze to Shanghai, where they will be exported,” said Li Zhongjie, Logistics Director of Wuhan International Container Transshipment. In April, Chongqing’s external trade skyrocketed 141% to USD13.5 billion, with exports jumping 188.6% to USD9.3 billion and imports soaring 77% to USD4.2 billion, making it the Chinese city with the fastest growth in trade. In the first four months of this year, Chongqing’s land-cargo traffic rose 74.5% to 13,811 tons, while its air freight leaped 107.3% to 29,809 tons.
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