According to China Waterway Transport, by end of October this year, more than 90 per cent of vessels passing the Three Gorges Dam were equipped with GPS. The system allows vessel operators to request a passing slot just four hours in advance rather than 24 hours that is the case for vessels without one.

Because GPS-equipped vessels are more accurate in estimating arrival time, the number of wasted slots has been reduced sharply. As a result, passing the dam is now more efficient.

During the first 10 months of this year, 408 vessels installed GPS, joining the 2,300 vessels that were already equipped with the system.