China's launch of a 77.2-billion-yuan ($11.39 billion) infrastructure project to expand the Three Gorges Dam's navigation system is set to eliminate chronic shipping bottlenecks and substantially lower national logistics costs, supercharging the industrial arteries of its vast economy, industry experts said.
The megaproject, which officially broke ground recently in Yichang, Hubei province, represents a milestone capital investment to clear a critical choke point along the Yangtze River, the world's busiest inland waterway, they said.
China Three Gorges Corp announced that the massive capital expenditure comprises of two major capacity upgrades. At the Three Gorges Hub, the operator will excavate deep into the left-bank rock face to construct two new ship locks parallel to the existing dual-line locks, upgrading the hub to a four-lane configuration.
Downstream, a concurrent overhaul at the Gezhouba Dam will see its No 3 lock dismantled to make way for two new single-stage locks, significantly widening the approach channels.
The massive capital expenditure is driven by capacity constraints that have threatened to throttle regional supply chains.
