Guangxi is set to complete a feasibility study for the Pinglu canal on the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, with plans in place to start construction on the project next year, according to the Transport Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.

The canal is an important part of the corridor, which connects major inland cities in southwestern China, such as Chongqing municipality and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, with coastal and border cities in Guangxi. It will also act as a new strategic channel to link the international hub ports in the Beibu Gulf and Xijiang River.

The canal will start at the Pingtang estuary of the Xijin Reservoir in Nanning, go down the Shaping and the Qinjiang rivers, and finally enter the waters of Qinzhou Port in Beibu Gulf. It will have a total length of nearly 140 kilometers.

It will be built to a Class I inland waterway standard, which will allow the navigation of 3,000-ton ships, and give consideration to the navigation of 5,000-ton ships. The project will have a total investment of about 68 billion yuan ($10.65 billion).

After the project is completed, Guangxi will have a new sea access point. Ships on the middle and upper reaches of the Xijiang River can put out to sea from Qinzhou Port via the canal, a distance 560 km shorter than from Guangzhou Port.