1462 days and nights! The Pinglu Canal passes completion acceptance.

On August 28, on the fourth anniversary of the commencement of construction of the Pinglu Canal, the project passed the completion acceptance inspection, laying a solid foundation for navigation in September.

Over the past four years, the project has adhered to high standards and high-quality construction, striving to create a premium project, a green project, and a clean project. Four years ago today, the Pinglu Canal officially broke ground in Guangxi. Over the 134.2-kilometer-long canal, builders have overcome challenges day and night for 1,462 days, gradually transforming the grand blueprint into reality. Four years later, the overall progress of the Pinglu Canal project exceeds 98%, the joint commissioning tasks of the three major hubs have been fully completed, and all real-ship tests before navigation have been finalized. The Pinglu Canal is about to transition from construction to a new milestone of navigation and operation.

Guangxi is targeting the goal of completing navigation in September, achieving "water in the canal, ships on the water, goods in the ships, and goods reaching all directions," while coordinating the dual challenges of project construction and operational management.

It is reported that a total of 313 million cubic meters of earth and stone have been excavated for the Pinglu Canal. All main bridge projects for the 27 bridges crossing the canal have been completed. The joint water commissioning of Madao, Qishi, and Qingnian hubs has been fully finalized. The canal engineering and hub engineering have passed the completion acceptance inspection. Supporting projects such as navigation aids, water service areas, and intelligent operation systems are basically completed, with final defect rectification and finishing work underway. The construction of Maowei Sea No. 1 anchorage has been fully accelerated.

Meanwhile, the Pinglu Canal management organization and operation team are functioning regularly. The "Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Pinglu Canal Protection and Management Regulations" continue to be implemented. Key systems such as the "Guangxi Waterway River-Sea Integrated Dispatching Rules," ship lock passage fee standards, and navigation safety management regulations have been issued and implemented. Emergency response plans for shipping incidents are being accelerated, and the intelligent maintenance system is in trial operation. The Guangxi Waterway River-Sea Integrated Intelligent Dispatching Platform has been fully launched for trial operation. The "seven-network integration" intelligent logistics information platform, encompassing river, sea, rail, road, air, and postal networks, is being rapidly advanced.

Notably, the "Pinglu Canal 2026–2027 Annual Navigation Water Supply Guarantee Plan" has been issued and implemented, ensuring the canal's navigation water needs for 2026–2027 and fully guaranteeing "water in the canal." Over 2,000 inland vessels suitable for navigating the Pinglu Canal to Qinzhou Bay are available in the region. Nationwide, approximately 3,000 coastal vessels under 2,000 tons meet the canal's navigation conditions, ensuring "ships on the water." The logistics subsidy policy for the Western Land-Sea New Corridor is being revised to include direct river-sea canal routes and river-rail-sea intermodal trains, strongly supporting the stability of the shipping market and ensuring "goods in the ships." The renovation of river-side and sea-side river-sea intermodal berths has been preliminarily completed, with intermodal capacity exceeding 16 million tons to meet near-term navigation needs. Simultaneously, efforts are being accelerated to build a Guangxi waterway intermodal system centered on the Pinglu Canal, extending the canal's cargo source hinterland and ensuring "goods reaching all directions."

In September, the Pinglu Canal will usher in a historic moment of completion and navigation—5,000-ton ships will set sail from Nanning, travel along the Pinglu Canal, and directly reach the Beibu Gulf, advancing toward maritime strength.