Pinglu Canal opens to navigation, creating two-way river-sea freight corridor

(ECNS) -- The Pinglu Canal officially opened to navigation on Wednesday.

A bulk carrier "Guanfeng 1800," loaded with bauxite from Australia, departed from the Dalanping operation area of Qinzhou Port in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and will travel via the Pinglu Canal to Nanning Port before continuing to the Xiangzhou operation area of Baise Port.

Meanwhile, a 5,000-metric-ton inland demonstration vessel, "Beigang Yunhe 001," was handling limestone and other cargo that had arrived at Qinzhou Port via the "Guigang–Pinglu Canal–Qinzhou" route and was preparing to set sail.

Zhou Xinquan, deputy general manager of Jingxi Tiangui Aluminum Industry Co., Ltd., said the company, one of the first cargo owners to use the canal and a local enterprise along the route, is transporting bauxite and coal via the Pinglu Canal. The canal offers an alternative to the traditional sea-rail intermodal model, helping reduce costs. For example, shipping 8 million metric tons of production materials via the Pinglu Canal is expected to save 40 million yuan (about $5.6 million) in transportation costs.

Yuan Qiuhong, deputy manager of the business department at Beibu Gulf Port Qinzhou Terminal Co., Ltd., said the canal's opening marks the formal establishment of a coordinated development framework between Beibu Gulf Port and the Xijiang River basin. Vessels traveling from the sea to inland rivers can reach inland ports such as Nanning and Guigang, with cargo distributed across Guangxi, Yunnan and Guizhou. In the opposite direction, goods can be shipped to coastal ports in China and overseas destinations such as Can Tho Port in Vietnam.

The "Pinglu Canal Navigation Safety Management Regulations" took effect on Tuesday. The regulations establish a regulatory framework for river-sea navigation. Under China's first "equivalent Class A navigation area" approved for designated waters in Qinzhou Bay, qualified inland vessels can legally enter marine waters once their inspection certificates are endorsed, while clear dimensional requirements apply to seagoing vessels entering rivers. This allows inland vessels to sail to sea and seagoing vessels to enter inland waterways.

The Pinglu Canal spans 134.2 kilometers and can accommodate 5,000-metric-ton vessels. It is the first canal in China since 1949 to connect a river to the sea, creating the shortest, most economical and convenient sea route from southwest China to ASEAN.

(By Tang Yuxian)