Anhui provincial government vowed to increase investment in the Yangtze waterway to help facilitate industrial relocation from the coast to the interior, a waterway summit held in Wuhu was told on 13 September. A total of Rmb300m has been set aside each year for the 12th five-year plan (2011-15), including a special waterway fund. The provincial port authorities have also secured loans totalling Rmb6.5bn for investment in shipping infrastructure.

Anhui has designated a cluster of 10 cities along the Yangtze and its tributaries to accommodate industrial relocation from the coast. They include Maanshan, Wuhu, Tongling, Anqing and Chizhou, the five major ports cities on the Yangtze trunkline. This is the first batch of cities approved by the State Council to accommodate the relocation of industries from the coast. Deputy provincial governor Huang Haisong said that the waterway is the top investment priority among transport infrastructure projects.