Mayors of Changsha, Nanchang, Wuhan and Hefei, four provincial capitals in Central China, co-signed an agreement on Feb 7 to cooperate on such fields as market integration, infrastructure interconnection, environmental protection, and shared social services.

The agreement, called Hefei Essentials, has been agreed on during the third annual meeting of leaders from the provincial capitals in the middle reaches of Yangtze River, held in Hefei, Anhui province.

Under the agreement, the four cities will seek to interconnect their infrastructure, build local airports and railway stations to link with national transportation hubs, and build key railway lines including Hefei- Anqing-Jiujiang railway line and Chongqing-Changsha-Xiamen high-speed railway.

They will also jointly enforce waterway regulations and channel improvements along the Hanjiang River, Xiangjiang River, Ganjiang River, and Chaohu Lake.Four important provincial capital cities will designate a "high-speed" waterway in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

A regional customs clearance integration has already been in force in Yangtze river basin, which substantially lowers the logistic cost and facilitates freight transport linkage in the area.

Changsha, one of the key integrated transportation hubs under the nation's 12th Five Year Plan (2011-15), is now on the way of developing into a comprehensive transportation center, with main focus being on the high speed rail to be supported by other transportation means such as waterways, airways, and highways.

The signing ceremony of the Hefei Essentials in Hefei, Feb 7, 2015 [Photo by Zhou Baiping/Changsha Evening News]