China is launching ‘river-to-sea’ canal which experts call the ‘Project of the Century’

The Pinglu Canal of China, which was under construction at the cost of US$10 billion, seems to be now ready and has just completed its first full-scale, live-ship trial.

 This is the final test before the waterway opens to navigation in September.

The canal, often called a ‘Project of the Century,’ is a centerpiece of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

It will give southwest China a direct route to the sea, cutting transport time and costs, and opening up easier access to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets and vice versa.

Four vessels of different sizes took part in the canal passage trials, testing everything from lock transits and overtaking to nighttime navigation.

Additional tests are planned under potentially hazardous conditions, such as reservoir discharges, flooding from tributaries and combinations of strong winds and high tides.

The test vessels were equipped with BeiDou positioning systems, drones and sensors to collect data on their routes, movements, water currents and safe distances between ships.

Once operational, the canal is expected to boost economic development across inland provinces and strengthen trade ties between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

The canal stretches 134.2 kilometers from the Pingtangjiangkou section of the Xijin reservoir area in Nanning, to the Beibu Gulf via Qinzhou city.

It can handle 5,000-ton vessels.

There are three navigation hubs, namely Madao, Qishi and Qingnian.

These are located from upstream to downstream, equipped with twin single-step 5,000-ton ship-locks with a designed annual one-way capacity of 89 million tons.

Construction began in August 2022, with a total budgeted cost of 72.719-billion-yuan, equivalent to US$10.78 billion.

Once in operation, the canal will let ships from the middle and upper reaches of the Xijiang River sail directly to the Beibu Gulf.

The canal is expected to cut roughly 560 kilometers from the current inland waterway route to the sea via Guangzhou Port, shortening delivery time and lowering logistics costs.

Stretching from the Pingtang River in Guangxi’s Hengzhou City to the Beibu Gulf in the South China Sea, the canal is set to become the backbone of the country’s New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

The corridor has also evolved into a strategic route linking China’s inland regions with ASEAN and other global markets.

The corridor’s rail service handled a record 1.425 million 20-foot equivalent units of cargo in 2025, up 47.6 percent year on year. 

As of early July 2026, its network reached 593 ports in 128 countries and regions