Overview
- The project formally broke ground on Monday, June 8, with state bodies and the Three Gorges Group starting work on a CNY 77.2 billion (US$11.4 billion) expansion of navigation facilities at the dam.
- Engineers will build a five-stage ‘water staircase’ with a 6,680‑metre two-way channel designed to let roughly 11,000‑ton class vessels pass more quickly than through the current locks.
- Authorities project the new locks will nearly double annual cargo capacity at the Three Gorges site to about 370 million US tons from roughly 191 million US tons in 2025, easing a chokepoint that first exceeded its design limits in 2011.
- Construction is scheduled to take about 112 months, and officials say the upgrade will lower transport costs, speed logistics links between inland cities and coastal ports, and improve river safety and throughput for both freight and passenger traffic.
- The build is part of China’s 15th Five‑Year Plan and is meant to strengthen the Yangtze River Economic Belt by boosting domestic circulation, supporting major industrial clusters, and shaping freight patterns across Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing and Shanghai.