China to spend US$27.7 billion dredging Yangtze to 12.5 metres to Nanjing

CHINA plans to spend more than CNY18 billion (US$27.7 billion) on deepening the Yangtze River ship channel some 400 miles (650 kilometres) upstream to Nanjing to a depth of 12.5 metres (41 feet), Xinhua reports.

The section to be dredged extends from Nanjing to Taicang, covering a distance of 311.6 kilometres (194 miles). The first phase project will start by the end of this year and be finished by 2013. The second phase will start in 2012 and be completed in 2015. The third phase will maintain the safety of the project.


The projects will be paid for by the Ministry of Transport and the Jiangsu provincial government with Beijing paying CNY14 billion. Once completed, 50,000-ton ships will be able to access Nanjing, doubling Jiangsu`s provincial cargo capacity - 20 fold of what the Shanghai-Nanjing railway carries today.


China successfully has already dredged the Yangtze to 12.5 metres to 60 kilometres upstream to Taicang after 10 years, enabling 50,000-ton ships to get there, and 100,000-tonners at high tide.