The Yangtze Waterway Bureau has announced that dredging projects will start in May along the stretch between Wuhu and Nanjing so that the minimum guaranteed water level will rise from 7.5 metres to 9 metres between July and September and from 6 metres to 7.5 metres in other months of the year. This means that by end of the year, the guaranteed water level throughout the navigable length of the Yangtze will be increased. According to official statistics, one more metre in water depth allows a vessel to carry an extra 1,000 teu, thus reducing shipping costs.

The Wuhu-Nanjing stretch is one of the busiest on the Yangtze. In a separate development, the waterway authorities plan a major dredging project to guarantee an all-year-round water level of 12.5 metres up to Nanjing by 2012.