According to the planning department of the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau, five major dredging projects along the middle and lower reaches of the river costing a total of Rmb40bn have passed a round of rigorous examinations by technical experts and are ready to apply for funding from the Ministry of Transport. The five projects are due to be completed in 2013 and involve 42 shoals and shallows along a length of 1,645km of the trunkline. The costliest two are the 408km stretch between Yichang and Chenglingji, a traditional bottleneck, and the 301km stretch between Nanjing and Liuhekou, the busiest stretch; they will cost Rmb13.7bn and Rmb18.3bn respectively. The Yichang-Chenglingji stretch will cover 18 trouble spots. The target is 3.2 metres (currently 2.9 metres) in water depth, 150 metres in width (currently 80 metres) and 1,000 metres in turning radius (currently 750 metres), allowing the passage of 10,000dwt barge fleets. Six major trouble spots will be tackled on the Nanjing stretch, bringing the water depth to 12.5 metres (currently 10.5 metres), 500 metres in width and 1,050 metres in turning radius. This means that vessels of 70,000dwt will be able to sail to Nanjing all year round and vessels of 100,000dwt may sail on tide.

Money will also be spent on the 228km stretch between Chenglingji and Wuhan, covering six trouble spots and costing Rmb2.17bn. The target is 3.7 metres (currently 3.2m) in water depth, 150 metres in width (currently 80m) and 1,000 metres in turning radius, also allowing the smooth passage of 10,000dwt barge-tug fleets. The nine trouble spots in the 402km stretch between Wuhan and Anqing will cost almost Rmb3.5bn, with a targeted water depth of 4.5 metres (currently 4 metres), width of 200 metres and a turning radius of 1,050 metres. A total of Rmb2.15bn will be spent on three trouble spots in the 306km-stretch between Anqing and Nanjing, with a targeted water depth of six metres (currently 5 metres between Anqing and Wuhu and 6.5 metres between Wuhu and Nanjing), a width of 200 metres and a turning radius of 1,050 metres.
As part of the efforts to stimulate the economy, the central government plans to speed up the dredging projects with substantially increased investments. In 2007, a total of Rmb15bn was spent on dredging the Yangtze waterway, of which more than Rmb1.1bn came from local governments. Every increment of one metre in water depth will allow an increase of about 1,000 teu to be carried on vessels, reducing costs for shippers.