China backs Three Gorges megaproject, hot on heels of giant Tibet dam

China’s top economic planner has flagged a megaproject to expand shipping capacity on the Three Gorges, slated to span the coming five-year plan, while also calling for greater investment to drive strategic initiatives.

In a report submitted to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on Wednesday, Zheng Shanjie, chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), underscored the need to push major infrastructure projects such as the new shipping channel on the Three Gorges, state news agency Xinhua reported.

The project would ease traffic at the Three Gorges-Gezhouba hub – a strategic link in the Yangtze Economic Belt – by building a new double-line, five-stage lock system and increasing Gezhouba’s shipping capacity, according to the NDRC and bidding documents.

The nod to the project came as Beijing weighs the trade-off between boosting consumption and its traditional reliance on infrastructure-led growth, as it seeks to revive domestic demand amid rising global uncertainties.

A May report by the NDRC, which oversees and approves major national projects, described it as “the biggest integrated project on the Yangtze River since the Three Gorges Dam, combining water management, navigation and ecological functions.”

A June bidding announcement estimated the total investment at about 76.6 billion yuan (US$10.7 billion), with a construction period of more than eight years plus an additional 12-month preparatory phase. The schedule would run through the next five-year plan.

South China Morning Post