China to Open $10-B Canal Linking Heartlands to Southeast Asia

China is expected to complete construction of the landmark Pinglu Canal before the end of this year, finishing the 72.7-billion-yuan ($10.4-billion) project in just four years to boost trade links with its top export destination, Southeast Asia, Carol Yangin reported for the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

The mega-project will provide China’s landlocked southwestern provinces with direct access to global shipping lanes. (Photo: Pinglu Canal Group)

The mega-project will provide China’s landlocked southwestern provinces with direct access to global shipping lanes, making it faster and cheaper to transport goods between the Chinese interior and neighboring countries.

The 134-kilometer (83-mile) waterway will link Nanning, the capital of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to the Gulf of Tonkin—known in China as the Beibu Gulf—via the Qin River. It is the first major canal China has built in centuries.