Jiangxi Shihutang Navigation and Hydropower Complex Project

China’s inland waterway transport (IWT) network is the world’s largest in terms of length and freight volume. However, only a small fraction of the potential capacity of these waterways was used. Navigation infrastructure either had deficiencies or was of a low standard, which prevented the passage of larger and more efficient vessels that require higher standard waterways. Historically there had been low investment in IWT to improve these standards and institutional arrangements had made it difficult to coordinate action to optimize IWT development on such waterways, as most of them were administered by provincial governments.

Jiangxi Province is a land-locked province in south-central China and was one of the six economically underdeveloped central provinces supported by the “Rise of Central China” initiative. Transport was one of the priorities in this development strategy. As of project appraisal in 2008, IWT growth in Jiangxi lagged far behind road transport growth. The province, therefore, decided to pursue a more balanced transport strategy that gave more prominence to IWT. The priority for both the Ministry of Transportation and the province was to improve navigation capacity on the Gan River, particularly in its middle and lower reaches. The development objective of the Jiangxi Shihutang Navigation and Hydropower Complex Project was to improve utilization of the Gan River for more reliable freight transport and for cleaner energy production through (a) improving inland waterway transport capacity and service levels for primary and secondary industries in the Nanchang-Ganzhou corridor of the Gan River, and (b) generating renewable electricity to help meet rapidly growing demand for energy in the region.

There were three components to the project. The first component was construction of the Shihutang complex, a single integral infrastructure unit that would form a reservoir. The complex would consist of 23 sets of sluice gates, one Grade III ship lock to accommodate 1,000-ton vessels, one powerhouse with a capacity of 120 megawatts, a connection dam, and a dam crest access road. The second component of the project was flood protection works consisting of approximately 43 kilometers of dikes, 56 kilometers of diversion canals, about six sets of pumping stations, two sets of free drainage sluices, and two sets of regulating sluices. The third and final component of the project was technical assistance consisting of two technical studies and a capacity building program to build the institutional and technical capacities of the implementing agency.

The project improved the capacity of the Shihutang IWT channel by upgrading it from Grade V to Grade III, which substantially increased the navigable time for 1,000-ton vessels. The current service level at Shihutang makes IWT a competitive mode for bulk and low-value cargo (e.g., agriculture products and construction material) along the Gan River. Cargo volume and container volume increases met or surpassed project targets along the Gan River; however, the increases cannot be attributed entirely to the project due to the development of another ship lock located downstream of the project that temporarily suspended IWT. The generated electricity has been successfully networked with the regional electricity grid to effectively support the rapidly growing demand for energy and significantly alleviate the status of insufficient power supply in the region. Flood protection works improved 10-year flood protection for agricultural crops in the project area.