Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has been devoting efforts to increasing the transport capacity of railways and expressways, as well as to enhancing functions of the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port and Hub Seaport, officials announced during an Aug 3 press conference.

The press conference focused on Guangxi's achievements in promoting the high-level construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

Guangxi is connected with ASEAN countries by land and sea, serving as an important node and a land-sea gateway on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

Fan Yijiang, a member of the Development and Reform Commission of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, said that the Guiyang-Nanning High-speed Railway will complete construction in 2023 and that the Huangtong-Baise railway will start construction this year.

A major transport facility in the construction of the Belt and Road, as well as the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the 119.3-kilometer Nanning-Chongzuo High-speed Railway started construction in October 2018, with an investment of 18.32 billion yuan ($2.72 billion). With a designed speed of 250 km per hour, the train will reduce the travel time between Nanning and Chongzuo to half an hour from the current two hours when it begins operations.

The region has been taking an active role in establishing international aviation cargo transport passages. Currently, it serves 16 international cargo transport airlines that travel to 16 cities in nine ASEAN countries. The total cargo throughput of Nanning Wuxu International Airport in the first half of 2022 increased by nearly six times year-on-year to 34,000 metric tons.

Construction of the Beibu Gulf International Gateway Port is now moving forward, with 101 berths, with a handling capacity of over 10,000 tons each, built, with a total handling capacity of nearly 300 million tons.

The Pinglu River, a backbone project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, will stretch 135 km, connecting the Xijiang River trunk line and the Beibu Gulf. The project was approved in March and will begin construction soon.

Fan said that the sea-rail intermodal trains on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor can now reach 16 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities in Central and West China. A total of 4,132 such trains were operated in the first half of 2022, an increase of 42 percent year-on-year.