Reporters learned from the Yangtze River Chongqing Navigation Engineering Bureau that on May 29, the navigation improvement project along the section from Chaotianmen to Fuling River in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River (referred to as the Chaofu section) was officially put into operation. With this, the 4.5-meter-deep waterways in the Three Gorges Reservoir area have been extended to the central urban area of Chongqing. This allows cargo ships weighing up to 5,000 tons to travel directly from the Three Gorges Reservoir area to Chongqings urban areas throughout the year. As a result, the effectiveness of this vital waterway along the Yangtze River has been further enhanced.
The entire length of the Fuling section of the project is 123 kilometers. It connects to the central urban area of Chongqing in the upper part, and reaches Fuling Port in the lower part. This section serves as a vital transportation route for logistics and transportation in the eastern direction within the Chengdu-Chongqing Dual-City Economic Circle.
Before the renovation, this section of the waterway was only classified as a Class II waterway. The minimum maintenance depth was 3.5 meters, which could only accommodate ships of up to 2,000 tons. Additionally, the river channel was narrow, with numerous dangerous shoals and turbulent currents, making navigation conditions extremely poor. To implement national strategies such as building a transportation powerhouse and developing the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the Ministry of Transport approved the implementation of the Chaofei section project in November 2020. The total investment amounted to 920 million yuan. Measures such as dam construction, dredging, reef removal, and shore protection were taken to comprehensively renovate 11 key navigation-impeding areas, including Guangyangba, Dajiantan, Luoqi, and Wangjiatan. At the same time, four habitat creation areas were built, along with supporting navigation facilities that were fully equipped.
; The Chao-Fu section of the project is located near the Four Major Fish Species conservation area along the Yangtze River. To protect the ecosystem, this project has developed a innovative approach to constructing green waterways upstream: avoidance, mitigation, restoration, and integration. The project has developed ecological dam structures in mountainous river sections, creating life corridors for fish migration. It also pioneered a technology for creating fish habitats based on dredged soil and debris from reef removal. Ecological fish reefs and new dam structures were utilized in the construction of this project. A total of 1.84 million cubic meters of dredged soil was utilized, along with over 900,000 rare fish species being released into the environment through joint efforts with fisheries departments. Additionally, 32,000 square meters of artificial fish nests were constructed.
