To smooth the realization of its ambition to become an international shipping center, Shanghai has kicked off two major watercourse treatment projects as part of a new development plan for its inland river shipping.
The 50.5-kilometer-long Dalu Waterway starts from the Huangpu River and ends at an inland river in the under-construction Harbour City, a district in southwest Shanghai. Harbour City will serve as a backyard for the Yangshan Port, a deep-water port 30-kilometer southwest to Shanghai.
"The line is a bottleneck between the network of the Yangtze Delta and Yangshan Port, and we must break through it," said Gan Guande, deputy director of the Shanghai Urban Transport Administration Bureau.
The treatment will allow for boats holding 1,000-ton standard containers and is expected to cost 2.4 billion yuan (US$291 million). It will be completed by 2005 to keep pace with the operation of the Luyang Bridge and the first phase of Yangshan Port.
Zhaojiagou Waterway, the shortest between the Huangpu River and the standard-container port area in Waigaoqiao economic zone, is to be dredged at a cost of 870 million yuan (US$105 million). The project, involving the renovation of nine bridges, is expected to be completed by 2005.
According to Gan, the two projects are major components of the city's general plan which aims to construct a frame with one circle and 10 radials.
"In the coming 20 years, inland shipping will not wither but boom as a vital method of transportation to cater to people's desire for a better environment," Gan said.
Shanghai has 210 inland rivers with a navigable distance of 2,100 kilometers. In 2001, 131 million tons of cargo, taking up nearly one fourth of the total handled, was distributed via the inland rivers.
Gan said that although expressways have been rapidly developed in the past 10 years, inland rivers have maintained a 23-25 percent market share, transporting mainly fuel and bulk cargo.
In 2005, the inland rivers will handle 150 million tons of cargo, consisting of 150,000-200,000 20-feet equivalent units. By 2020, 1.5-2 million 20-feet equivalent units will pass through inland rivers, according to estimates by shipping experts.
In the distant future, household garbage in the city will be mainly delivered to treatment sites via inland rivers. Currently, nearly 4 million tons of wastes are transported by water every year.
But only 275 kilometers among the total 2,100 kilometers of navigable waterway allows boats above 300 tons, which limits the development of the shipping industry and hinders the type and grade of ships.
( May 23, 2002)
