A water transport work conference of Hunan Province was held on February 28, 2022. According to the conference, Hunan will roll out an overall plan this year for all of the 13 cities and one prefecture, featuring "one city, one port", to promote integrated development of port and shipping in Changsha, Zhuzhou, and Xiangtan cities. Meanwhile, six billion yuan will be invested in accelerating the construction of a backbone waterway network consisting of “one river, one lake, and four major waterways” and a port system composed of “one hub, multiple key sites, and broadened areas”, in order to advance infrastructure construction and strengthen areas of weakness in water transport.

In terms of the backbone waterway network, “one river” refers to the Yangtze River; “one lake” refers to the Dongting Lake; and, “four waterways” include trunk streams and important tributaries of Xiangjiang, Zijiang, Yuanshui, and Lishui rivers.

The port system refers to focusing on one hub – Yueyang Port; giving priority to the development of important port areas to form multiple port-based nodes for freight transport; and, expanding development of other port areas to enhance the supporting and service roles of ports to industrial development.
 
This year, Hunan will complete several key projects, including first phase of the 1,000-ton waterway of Xiangjiang River between Yongzhou and Hengyang; a wharf of the storage and distribution base for rail-water combined coal transport at the Yueyang Port; and, the Yuntong logistics wharf at the Yiyang Port. Besides, 140-km 1,000-ton waterways and ten 1,000-ton berths will be built.

The construction of the second phase of the 1,000-ton waterway of Xiangjiang River between Yongzhou and Hengyang, the 1,000-ton waterway of Lishui River between Shimen and Lixian counties, and the 2,000-ton waterway of Yuanshui River between Changde and Nianyukou, will be pushed forward.

The third phase of the 1,000-ton waterway of Xiangjiang River between Yongzhou and Hengyang, the 500-ton waterway of Yuanshui River between Hongjiang and Chenxi, will be inaugurated.

Work will be done to promote planning of Lushui River, a tributary of Xiangjiang River, and study of the canal project of Hunan and Guangxi.

An informatization construction plan for water transport development during the 14th Five-year Plan period (2021-2025) will be rolled out. Pilots of smart waterways and smart ports will be constructed, to facilitate upgrading of smart water transport. Beyond that, BeiDou applications will be used to boost information sharing of management and service platforms, to expand the contribution of smart water transport to economic development.

In 2021, Hunan’s water transport sector had fulfilled its targets, with 4.21 billion yuan invested in water transport construction, increasing by 110.5% over the previous year. Six waterways and 14 port projects had been launched. The investment in water transport hit a record high, marking a good start of the 14th Five-year Plan.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn