China's Grand Canal Plans
The Straits Times|January 18, 2025
Construction of the Pinglu Canal, the first major waterway to be built in China since 1949, is under way in Guangxi region. Officials hope that the canal will boost exports from south-western China and be a blueprint for other canal projects. But are such projects likely to inject new life into the economy or construction for construction's sake?
Michelle Ng
China's Grand Canal Plans

GUANGXI - Ever since half his farmland was acquired by the Chinese government in 2022, the well has almost run dry for sugar-cane and rice farmer Zhou Yanxian, 51. Just like the other 900 households in Qishidong village in China's southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, his family relies on hand-pumped groundwater to cook, clean and shower.

"Our water supply used to be ample, but recently, they diverted all the water and there's barely enough water for us to use," the father of five told The Straits Times.

The groundwater is being diverted for the construction of a far bigger water project: a mega canal that might kick-start China's third infrastructure boom, which follows the expressway boom after the 1997 Asian financial crisis and the high-speed railway, airport and subway boom after the 2008 global financial crisis.

When built, the 72.7 billion yuan (S$13.6 billion) Pinglu Canal would usher in what the Chinese media has called "the grand canal era".

It is a nod to its 1,800km-long ancient Grand Canal (or "Da Yun He"), a Unesco World Heritage Site that links Beijing to Hangzhou and served as important transport infrastructure in premodern China.

The Grand Canal is still used today for shipping, with some sections spruced up for recreation and tourism.

Pinglu is the first major canal to be built in the People's Republic of China since its founding in 1949. Stretching 134km, the canal's construction started in August 2022 and is due to be completed by the end of 2026.

By cutting across from Nanning to Qinzhou in Guangxi - the only province or region in China connected to Asean by both land and sea - the Pinglu Canal ensures goods to Asean will be transported "in the shortest time, with the best service and at the best price", declared the region's chairman Lan Tianli.

This story is from the January 18, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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This story is from the January 18, 2025 edition of The Straits Times.

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