Investment in water transport expands capacity

China has promoted water transportation to enhance the connectivity of the waterway network while improving investment in the sector, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Water transport has the benefits of large capacity, less pollution, low cost and low energy consumption. China aims to promote water transport－an environmentally friendly means－to restructure the mode of transportation. As integral parts of the system, ports and waterways are essential hubs and channels of the national comprehensive transportation network, Su Jie, deputy director of the general planning department of the Ministry of Transport, said at a news conference on Thursday.

In the past 10 years, China's water transport sector has made remarkable achievements. The scale of water transport infrastructure has remained No 1 in the world. The service capacity for water transport has improved to support social and economic development, he said.

By the end of last year, China had 20,867 berths for production at ports. Among them, 2,659 berths can accommodate big ships with displacement of more than 10,000 metric tons.

The length of navigable inland waterways has been extended to 128,000 kilometers.

The waterway network, including coastal channels and the Yangtze River inland waterway, links other transport systems such as railways and roads via ports, he said, adding that it connects different regions of China, as well as the world.

The capacity of logistics supply chains by water has been improved. Water transport has undertaken a large amount of cross-regional cargo transportation and about 95 percent of import and export transportation. Especially since the pandemic, water transport has remained smooth and orderly, he added.

Last year, China's ports handled 15.5 billion tons of cargo, a year-on-year increase of 6.8 percent.

In the first half of this year, efforts have been made to strengthen the coastal and inland waterway construction planning, promote water transport infrastructure and expand investment in water transport infrastructure construction, said Zheng Qingxiu, deputy head of the ministry's water transport bureau.

More investment was provided to waterway construction, he noted.

From January to June, national water transport construction has seen investment of 73.5 billion yuan ($10.7 billion), a year-on-year increase of 4.7 percent. In June, water transport construction completed investment of 17.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent.

Last month, the investment maintained a year-on-year increase of 21.8 percent, keeping a good growth momentum.