The Opinions of the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China on the constructionof pilot projects of modern inland river shipping and other projects in Hubei provincefor buildinga country with strong transportation network(hereinafter referred to as Opinions) has been issued a few days. The Opinions agrees with the construction of some pilot projects in Hubei province in principle, such as modern inland river shipping, “goodrural roads”, smart transportation, credit system construction in transportation, investment and financing system reform, multimodal transport, among which many projects in Yichang are on the list, based on information from the Municipal Transportation Bureau on July 6.

　　According to the Opinions, an intelligent port demonstration areain the Three Gorges Reservoir areaof Yichang port is expected to be completed within 1 to 2 years to focus on promotingthe improvement of wharf shore power facilities and ship powerequipment in Hubei province, improvingthe utility ratio of shore powerand completingthe construction of washing station for hazardous chemicals in Yichang and multimodal transport hub in Baiyang Port. In 3 to 5 years, the demonstration project combining railway and waterway in Baiyang Port will be completed to realize intelligent dockingand integrated operation of vehicles and vessels and constructthe “last kilometer”of railway and waterway transportation.The aim is to build aYichang Three Gorges cruise ship center, which mainly servesthe core scenic area—the Two Dams and One Gorgeand radiates tributaries of the Three Gorges Reservoir area and the Yangtze River and develop a demonstration brand of water tourism.

　　“As related projects are underway steadily, we will also develop and build a cruise ship only powered by batteriesthat is suitable for special tour routes of the Two Dams and One Gorge in accordance with the realityin Yichang”, officials of the Municipal Transportation Bureau said. Hubei province has been approved to be a pilot area for buildinga country with strong transportation network, which will bring a new round of traffic development opportunities for Yichang, further release policy dividends, facilitate the implementation of major transport projects in a package, and promote the improvement of Yichang’s transport in speed, quality and efficiency.