Dredging works to improve Yangtze waterway

By Yan Wanqin. He Guanying, Gao Yu, Kong Weiwei also contributed to this article.

Dredging has recently begun on the Zhijiang section of the Yangtze River, with five vessels currently involved in the project.

Among them is the Changying 8, the largest bucket dredger developed and built independently by China, capable of digging to a depth of 22 meters. The vessel can move approximately 1,000 cubic meters of hard rocks, silt, and other river materials per hour, significantly more than the 300 to 400 cubic meters typical for ordinary dredging boats. Its working method also minimizes environmental damage.

The dry season in the Yichang section of the Yangtze River typically runs from October to April. During this period, water levels in some areas are expected to drop below zero gauge, creating favorable conditions for dredging.

The Yangtze River Yichang Waterway Bureau is conducting dredging projects in several waterways, including Yidu, Guanzhou, Lujia River, Zhijiang, Jiangkou, and Dabujie.

"The dredging vessels can dredge an average of 8,000 cubic meters per day. We plan to complete all the work by the end of January 2025," said Ma Ce, project manager for the Yangtze River Yichang Waterway Bureau’s maintenance dredging project.

Jiang Yuanyuan, director of the waterway operation department, noted, "In recent years, the minimum depth of the waterway in Yichang has been gradually increased from 3.5 meters to 4.3 meters."

According to the development plan for the Yangtze River waterway, the Yichang section will be dredged to a depth of 4.5 meters by 2025, allowing 5,000-metric-ton vessels from Shanghai to navigate beyond Wuhan to Yichang.