On February 19, the State Council approved the 'Guangzhou Master Plan (2011-2020)', and the positioning as an 'international comprehensive transportation hub' has drawn attention from all sectors. The author reviewed the 'Guangzhou 2016 Key Construction Project Plan' (hereinafter referred to as the 'Plan') recently released by the Guangzhou Development and Reform Commission and found that Guangzhou is tightening its screws and sprinting at full speed toward the goal of an 'international comprehensive transportation hub': this year, Guangzhou plans to invest 49.6 billion yuan to advance 55 key projects, mainly involving shipping and aviation hubs, national railways and subways, intercity railways, and expressways, achieving full coverage of sea, land, air, and rail.
    Shipping Hub
    This year, 10.26 billion yuan will be invested in 21 key projects. Port development is linked with hundreds of billions of yuan in projects.
    Crossing the dense tributaries of the Pearl River from east to west, the advance section of the Guangzhou Nansha Port Railway, connecting Heshan in Jiangmen to Guangzhou Nansha Port, broke ground at the end of last year. This water-rail intermodal freight railway has a total investment of 15.2 billion yuan and is planned to be completed within 5 years, when it will become one of the most important freight corridors in western Pearl River Delta.
    To build an international shipping hub, Guangzhou plans to launch and continue 21 key projects this year, with a total investment scale of 79.72 billion yuan and a planned investment of 10.26 billion yuan this year. In Nansha New Area, Guangzhou Port is enhancing its throughput and functional diversity by widening deep-water channels and building new berths. Meanwhile, a series of projects including freight railways, supporting industrial parks, and R&D institutions are being implemented to provide strong industrial support for Nansha to play its window role.
    The Plan shows that the third phase of the Guangzhou Port Nansha Port Area project is scheduled to be completed and put into operation this year. Currently, the construction of 4 100,000-ton and 2 70,000-ton container berths has been completed, with a designed annual throughput capacity of 5.7 million TEU (standard containers). In addition, the deep-water channel widening project of Guangzhou Port, as well as three wharf construction projects including the Nansha Free Trade Zone Near-Sea International Automobile Logistics Hub and Supporting Wharf, the Nansha International Automobile Logistics Industrial Park Supporting Wharf Project, and the first phase of the Nansha International Cruise Terminal Complex Project, will start construction this year, with construction periods ranging from three to five years and designed annual throughput capacities of 800,000 and 600,000 ro-ro vehicles, respectively.
    According to statistics, in 2015, the Nansha Port Area achieved a cargo throughput of 282 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 11.7%, and container throughput reached 11.77 million TEU, a year-on-year increase of 6.3%. All of the world's top 20 container liner companies have already commenced operations in the Nansha Port Area.
    Last year, the Nansha Free Trade Zone was inaugurated, and the 'aircraft carrier-level' central state-owned enterprise China Communications Construction Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as 'CCCC') planned to invest in a package of projects in Nansha: the CCCC Pearl International Project, the International Cruise Home Port Complex Project, the CCCC Pearl Metropolis Real Estate Project, the Smart City Hengli Island CCCC City Project, and the CCCC Yida Huigu Technology Industrial Park, with cooperation projects involving over 100 billion yuan.
    For the development of Nansha New Area, the weight of this group of projects is resounding. The author learned from the Plan that the CCCC Pearl International Project, positioned to create a Nansha characteristic financial service center, innovation and technology service center, high-end commercial center, and professional service center, will be launched this year with a proposed investment of 750 million yuan for phase I civil construction and phase II land leveling.
    Also starting construction this year are: the second phase of the Guangzhou Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Anji South China Automobile Logistics Center Project, the China Railway Construction Southern Headquarters Base Project, the Jiacheng Dry Port Project, and the South China International Port and Shipping Service Center Project.