China breaks ground on giant waterway project: new lock to triple gorges capacity nearly doubles to 336 million tons per year
77.2 billion yuan (11.3 billion US dollars), five levels, a double track navigation lock — the world's largest inland lock will rise next to the planet's most powerful hydropower dam. Demand for shipping on the Yangtze, the world's third longest river, continues to grow.
As reported by CCTV+, China launched construction of the large scale "Three Gorges" waterway project on Monday. Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Politburo Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee, attended the groundbreaking ceremony in Yichang, Hubei Province (central China).
The project includes building a five stage double track navigation lock north of the existing lock at the Three Gorges Dam — the world's largest hydropower facility. It also involves upgrading navigation facilities at a smaller dam downstream.
Upon completion, the annual throughput capacity of the Three Gorges area will nearly double to 336 million tons. This is the first major project launched during China's 15th Five Year Plan (2026–2030) — a critical stage in the country's drive toward socialist modernization by 2035.
The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze is already a global record holder for electricity generation. But growing cargo volumes have demanded expansion of this vital shipping artery. The new lock is an engineering solution that will allow more vessels to pass without interrupting navigation.
Once a natural barrier, China's great river is now turning into a high tech transport corridor. The new lock is not just concrete and steel. It is the answer to how economic growth can be combined with engineering ingenuity. As ships rise and fall in five chambers one after another, the river itself will keep flowing, and trade will keep accelerating. Thus a new chapter begins in the thousand year history of the Yangtze.
