China to open new 130-kilometre inland canal

China will soon formally open a new 134-kilometre inland canal to facilitate trade with Southeast Asian markets.

Although scheduled to officially open in September, Pinglu Canal has already seen its first trial navigation when a patrol boat of the China Maritime Safety Administration sailed through its entire length.

The river-to-sea canal construction project was undertaken over the course of four years by the Chinese Government at a cost equivalent to US$10.3 billion. It is the first major project of its kind to be executed at the national level since 1949.

The canal starts at the Ping River estuary in Hengzhou in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and ends at the Beibu Gulf.