Sichuan provincial governor Jiang Jufeng announced recently that his government will speed up investment in waterway infrastructure so that by 2020, 2,000-3,000 dwt vessels can sail on the Yangtze trunkline and 1,000dwt vessels can sail in the tributaries. By then, container handling capacity is expected to reach 4m TEU.

The major port on the Yangtze trunkline is Luzhou, which can accommodate vessels between 1,000dwt and 3,000dwt depending on the season. Low water levels in recent dry seasons have led to a suspension of shipping in Luzhou.

The local government spent Rmb7.2bn on the waterway during 11th five-year period, the governor said, and it plans to increase spending to Rmb40bn in the current 12th five-year plan. Money will be spent on dredging (most of the waterways in the province have not been dredged), standardising vessels and modernising ports. The government hopes that, by 2020, 3,000dwt dry bulk carriers and container vessels carrying more than 200 TEU will dominate shipping on the upper reaches of the Yangtze.