Statistics from the Yangtze River Administration show that freight volumes via the Three Gorges shiplocks hit 17m tons in the first three months of 2010, up nearly 55 per cent year-on-year. This was the highest quarterly level since the shiplocks started operation in June 2003. Officials are optimistic that the total freight volume will exceed 70m tons this year, up from 60.9m tons in 2009.

In another development, the water level upstream of the Three Gorges Dam was brought down to 154.25 metres by end of March from 171.43 metres. The measure has allowed the five-step shiplocks to be reduced to four steps and this in turn has reduced the passing time by 40 minutes. On average, it takes vessels three to four hours to pass the five steps.