China's 72.7-Billion-Yuan Pinglu Canal Set to Open for Navigation on Sept. 16

The Pinglu Canal, a landmark inland waterway project in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, is scheduled to officially open for navigation on September 16, according to a press conference reported by Xinhua. Built with an investment of approximately 72.7 billion yuan ($10.2 billion), the 134.2-kilometer canal represents the country's first nationally coordinated river-to-sea canal project since the founding of the People's Republic of China. Designed to Class I inland waterway standards, the channel can accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 deadweight tons.

The completion of the Pinglu Canal creates a direct maritime outlet for landlocked provinces in southwestern China, eliminating the traditional need to route freight eastward through the Pearl River Delta. By linking the interior Xijiang river network directly to the Gulf of Tonkin, the waterway fundamentally reshapes regional logistics costs, transit times, and trade connectivity under the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor initiative.

China's landmark Pinglu Canal will officially open to commercial vessel traffic on September 16, marking the completion of the country's first centrally coordinated river-to-sea waterway project since 1949, state media reported on Monday. The announcement was made during a press briefing in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, according to a Xinhua report carried by People's Daily. Construction of the 134.2-kilometer waterway commenced on August 28, 2022, representing an aggregate capital investment of approximately 72.7 billion yuan (around $10.2 billion). The canal is built to Class I inland navigation standards—the highest rating under China's domestic waterway classification system—enabling it to handle bulk carriers and cargo ships of up to 5,000 deadweight tons. Geographically, the canal cuts across southern Guangxi, connecting the tributaries of the Xijiang river system directly to the Beibu Gulf (Gulf of Tonkin). Historically, inland river traffic from Guangxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou bound for international shipping lanes had to travel eastward down the Xijiang into Guangdong province, discharging cargo through the congested Pearl River Delta before reaching open sea. The Pinglu Canal cuts hundreds of kilometers off that routing, offering a direct southwest maritime shortcut. The project forms a core physical component of China's New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, an infrastructure initiative aimed at connecting western provincial economies with Southeast Asian markets and broader global maritime routes. With civil construction winding down ahead of the mid-September opening, maritime authorities and logistics operators are preparing for early-stage operational tests to verify lock throughput capacity and water-level management systems.