Yangtze River Transportation Costs Decrease 30 Percent

Will Three Gorges Project affect the navigation of "Golden Waterway"? Yesterday, Huang Yan who is the assistant chief engineer of Yangtze River design and research institute told journalist:" The advantages of making Wuhan become golden waterway is more than the disadvantages. Now, the transportation costs decreased 30 percent, and ten thousand tons fleet can pass by."

In Huang Yan's view, after the Three Gorges Project completed, the Three Gorges Reservoir can adjust the water level. It can increase the water flow rate in low water period, and it also improved the navigation condition and water condition in the middle and down stream of Yangtze River. "In low water period, we can ensure good navigation condition by open the lock of Three Gorges Reservoir to adjust the water level in downstream," Huang Yan said. In low water period of every year, we can increase the let-down flow rate to make the water level in middle stream average increase 0.5 meters. At the same time, there are many dangerous shoals between Chongqing and Yichang in the upstream of Yangtze River so that there only can pass the 1500 tons fleets which seriously affected the shipping industry of Yangtze River upstream. After Three Gorges Project completed, some dangerous shoals are submerged so that ten thousands tons fleet can pass by.

The improvement of Yangtze River upstream waterway condition will promote the ship form and fleets develop toward standardization and upsizing. The transportation costs decrease 30 percent will relieve the railway transportation pressure. It is showed by data, in 2010, the goods amount passing by the lock reached 78.80 million tons which increased 29.4% than the last year, it also the four times of the early period; among them, the goods amounts passing by the lock to the downstream is 42.81 million tons. But in the past, the goods amount of uni-directional passing ability just 10 million tons.