Recently, the Four Up Three project of the Shaying River beneath Zhoukou was successfully selected as one of the first key projects in Henan Province in 2024. The waterway will continue to be widened and deepened, with the construction of the Shenqiu Double-line Ship Lock and the reconstruction of several obstructive bridges, laying a solid foundation for the construction of a billion-ton large port in Zhoukou.
In September 2023, Henan Province held a conference on the high-quality development of inland waterway transportation in Zhoukou, proposing to accelerate the high-quality development of inland waterway transportation as a key step in building a modern comprehensive transportation system and a key step in building a modern hub economy, mobilizing the whole province to do this major task well. Thus, the 11246 project for inland waterway transportation was born.
In 2023, Henan Province has started the all-round development of inland waterway transportation. Projects include the dredging of the Shaying River waterway, the reconstruction of bridges, and the commencement of the Huabu Bridge construction in Xixian section of the Huaihe River. The container shipping route from Zhoukou Port to Ningbo-Zhoushan Port has been opened. This year, Henan will comprehensively accelerate the “11246” project for inland waterway transportation, focusing on strengthening hubs, ensuring smooth channels, and nurturing industries, to build a new corridor from the northwest inland to the world-class port cluster in the Yangtze River Delta, opening up Henan to the sea.
Promote the integration of investment, construction, and operation in the shipping industry
Henan Province spans four major river systems: the Yangtze River, the Huaihe River, the Yellow River, and the Haihe River. Rivers such as the Huaihe River, Shaying River, Tangbai River, and Tuohui River all have favorable conditions for navigation.
“The inland waterway transportation in Henan province faces obvious bottleneck constraints，with too few waterways linking rivers to the ocean and navigable mileage accounting for only 6.9% of the total waterway mileage,” said Gao Jianli, Director of the Leading Group Office for the High-Quality Development of Inland Waterway Transportation in Henan Province and Director of Henan Provincial Department of Transportation. The overall scale of ports in Henan is relatively small, with waterway cargo turnover accounting for only 11% of comprehensive transport, and port throughput representing just 0.75% of the national total, which is less than one-tenth of that in Anhui, another inland province.
To make all-out efforts to shore up weak links in the development of inland waterway transportation, the Henan Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government initiated the “11246” project for inland waterway transportation. The plan is to make efforts over the course of 3 to 5 years to break through 100 million tons of port cargo throughput, achieve an investment in projects of 100 billion yuan, reach over 2000 km of navigable inland waterways，create four routes of linking rivers to the ocean through the Shayang River, Huaihe River, Tangbai River, and Tuohui River, and build six modern ports in Zhoukou, Xinyang, Luohe, Pingdingshan, Nanyang, and Shangqiu, aiming to establish a safe, smooth, green, economical, intelligent, and efficient modern inland waterway transportation system.
With a focus on the demands of hub economy and port - industry - city integration development, Henan has entrusted professional organizations to accelerate the formulation of the provincial integration plan for inland waterway transportation and the master plan for ports such as Zhoukou Port, Xinyang Port, and Luohe Port, further clarify the construction sequencing, port layout, functions, and roles of provincial shipping projects, and strengthen the top-level design of port distribution and transport , and port - industry - city integration; Special studies on the re-navigation of the Jialuhe River and the navigation of the Yellow River are being carried out to promote the integrated investment, construction, and operation of shipping throughout the province.
In 2023, the port throughput in Henan has significantly increased. Key projects such as the “Two Rivers and Two Ports” have progressed steadily. Zhongyu Port Group and Zhejiang Seaport Group have jointly established the Henan Yuhai New Corridor Operation Management Company. The Xinyang Port Huaibin Central Port Area has opened a river-sea intermodal transportation route to Africa.
Promote the connectivity of upstream and downstream shipping infrastructure
The development of inland waterway transportation will open up new horizons for the economic development of the hub in Henan. This year, Henan plans to invest 20 billion yuan in inland waterway transportation, by aiming to start construction of the Zhoukou Port Center Port Area Xiaoji Operation Area before the end of April, enhance the expansion and efficiency of the Xinyang Port Center Port Area, accelerate the construction of the “Two Rivers and Two Ports” projects including the Shaying River Zhoukou section, the Gushi section of the Huaihe River, and the Xixian section of the Huaihe River. It will also commence the construction of the Shaying River Luohe Port to Zhoukou section, Huaihe River Huaibin section, and the Tanghe Madian to Sheqi sectionwaterways projects, and complete the Xiaolangdi Reservoir Area port and shipping Project.
Henan will strengthen communication with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and other provinces, establish coordination mechanisms for planning and construction, water resource allocation, and shipping services, deepen strategic cooperation with leading enterprises, promote synchronized implementation and connectivity of upstream and downstream shipping infrastructure. The province will orderly promote the construction of dedicated railway lines for ports such as Zhoukou Port and Xinyang Port and promote effective connections between “highway to waterway”, “railway to waterway”, and “waterway to waterway”. It will support Zhoukou, Xinyang, Pingdingshan, and other areas in cultivating Lingang industrial clusters with a scale of hundreds of billions, support Zhoukou Shenqiu, Xinyang Huaibin, and other areas in building shipbuilding industrial parks, and create inland river dockyard industrial clusters.
Gao Jianli stated that with the “11246” project being implemented on all fronts, Henan will further promote smooth major waterway arteries for opening up to the southeast, accelerate integration into the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Delta Economic Zone and industrial chain, transform from “the marginalized” to “the frontier”, and promote the transformation of transportation advantages into hub economic advantages.
Source from: China Traffic News