The Pinglu Canal will open to navigation on September 16, Guangxi explains the layout for going to sea and developing toward the sea

On September 7, Guangxi officials announced in Nanning that the Pinglu Canal will officially open to navigation on September 16. With a total investment of about 72.7 billion yuan and a total length of 134.2 kilometers, the canal connects Nanning and Qinzhou. It is designed to accommodate 5,000ton vessels and is regarded as an important water transport corridor from the southwest region to the Beibu Gulf. At the press conference, multiple departments gave explanations on cargo sources, tolls, vessel passage, and the intermodal transport system. The canal's cargo sources mainly come from Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan, Chongqing, and Guangxi itself in the southwest, covering nonferrous metals, building materials, mineral products, and agricultural and forestry products. It will also handle ASEAN importexport containers and foreign trade cargo. The trial toll standard for passing through locks is 1.0 yuan per gross ton per trip, and there is also a phased exemption policy in the early stage of navigation to promote market cultivation. Guangxi also introduced arrangements for linking the canal with railways, highways, and ports, with a focus on advancing riverrailsearoad multimodal transport and improving the efficiency of the logistics corridor of "Beibu Gulf Port—Pinglu Canal—Railway." Local authorities expect that after the canal is completed, it will shorten the sea voyage for southwest cargo, reduce overall logistics costs, and further drive the development of portbased industries, industrial parks, and regional cooperation oriented toward ASEAN.