Three Gorges Ship Locks in Efficient Operation for 15 Years, Supporting Green Development of Yangtze River Economic Belt

As of June 18, 2018, the Three Gorges dual-way five-step ship locks have been in safe operation for 15 years. The Three Gorges ship locks first opened to commercial ships on June 18, 2003. Since then, they have operated for 142,300 times, with 787,900 ships passing through carrying 12.2058 million passengers and 1.175 billion tons of cargo. They have made a great contribution to shipping and economic development in the Yangtze River area.

The Three Gorges Reservoir has significantly improved the upstream waterways of Yangtze River, driving increasing demand for waterway transport. In 2011, the throughput of Three Gorges ship locks exceeded 100 million tons for the first time, reaching the designed standard 19 years ahead of the plan. Spurred by China's “Western Region Development” strategy and Yangtze River’s role as a golden waterway, the Three Gorges ship locks have seen a steadily increasing demand for passage in recent years. It has even become normal to carry more than 100 million tons of cargo through the Three Gorges ship locks every year. Addressing the continued and growing demand for passage, China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) has taken technical, engineering and management measures. For example, it has arranged regular maintenance and upgrading as well as planned suspension to guarantee smooth operation of the equipment and 100% intactness of major equipment. It has also leveraged new equipment, materials and skills to provide rapid and alternate maintenance for ship locks, minimizing the impact on the transport. Berthing facilities have been added and technology refined to shorten the running time of the equipment; “Internet+” has been introduced to carry out research on simultaneous berth shifting, through which the shipment potential of the Three Gorges ship locks has been further explored. Today, the ship locks operate for more than 30 times a day compared with 23 times in 2003.