A new 767-kilometre-long canal linking the inland rare earth hub of Jiangxi province with the eastern coastal powerhouse of Zhejiang has officially been included in the government’s agenda, according to a recently released policy document, as the Chinese government steps up efforts to expand its inland waterway network.
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China already boasts a sprawling web of high-speed rail and highways that reach deep into nearly every corner of the country, but officials have increasingly turned to rivers and artificial waterways – part of a broader push to lower logistical costs and integrate less-developed inland regions with wealthier coastal hubs, analysts said.
The Jiangxi-Zhejiang Canal is part of a mega-project aimed at connecting Guangdong, Jiangxi and Zhejiang by water. It is expected to become the most expensive artificial canal ever built in China, with an estimated investment of 320 billion yuan (US$44.4 billion), nearly three times that of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
In an action plan released in early May, the Zhejiang provincial government said it would begin to “plan and advance” the canal’s construction, aiming to turn the province into a national leader in inland water transport by 2035.
If completed, the canal would connect Jiangxi province – a growing manufacturing hub for electric vehicles with abundant rare earth and copper reserves – to seaports in Zhejiang, one of China’s wealthiest provinces.
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Planned as a Class III waterway, the canal would be able to accommodate 1,000-tonne vessels, according to Ministry of Transport guidelines. Once operational, it could handle around 25 million tonnes of cargo annually, the ministry said.