Everyone agrees that, looking at the development of transportation in the modern world, the great advantages of inland shipping services in economic and social development are highlighted. With the further prosperity of economy, the inland waterway transportation volume will continue to increase, and the whole inland waterway shipping industry will face unlimited development opportunities and bright prospects.
Europe: 320 million people use the Rhine-Danube.
Inland river transportation plays a unique role in economy and environment, and has extraordinary attraction. Developed countries in the world attach great importance to the strategic position and important role of inland river shipping and adopt a series of policies and measures to support the development of inland river shipping.
Ms. wortmann, a member of the European Parliament, said that the Rhine-Danube is undoubtedly important in Europe. For centuries, it has been the most important transportation system in Europe and has played a great role in economic development. The channel flows through 10 countries and connects the North Sea and the Black Sea. The main goods transported are crops, chemicals, ores, steel and so on. Moreover, the growth rate in the transportation of marine containers, metal products, chemicals, machinery and other products is also very high. Nearly 57% of the total population in Europe lives in the Rhine-Danube valley, and the lives of about 320 million people are closely related to this waterway.
She said that the development of the Rhine River is relatively mature, while the Danube still needs to make many improvements in terms of draught and winning high-value cargo transportation. With the enlargement of the European Union, the circulation of goods between East and West Europe has increased rapidly, and the Danube has great potential in inland river transportation, which can transfer the transportation of goods from increasingly crowded road transportation to water transportation. Therefore, improving the connection between the Rhine and Danube has been put on the agenda of Europe as one of the largest inland water transport infrastructure projects.
In order to better play the role of inland water transport, Europe is planning to develop the Rhine-Danube waterway into a modern, environmentally friendly and efficient waterway infrastructure channel, so it attaches great importance to the improvement of shipping conditions and infrastructure. The large amount of funds needed for this work mainly depends on public investment, especially the investment of state finance. In addition, because the Rhine-Danube waterway is one of the transportation network channels across Europe, it can also get up to 30% EU investment.
It is reported that in addition to infrastructure projects, Europe also attaches great importance to the development of cargo transshipment facilities, logistics centers and industrial centers for processing, transshipment and storage of goods along the river, because this can promote the transformation of transportation modes and make the Rhine-Danube waterway play an important role in improving the quality of economic development and creating employment opportunities. In addition, in order to optimize transportation conditions, Europe is gradually improving the management level of inland river transportation. At present, all countries along the Rhine-Danube River have realized the importance of inland river information service (RIS). Because RIS helps inland waterway transportation to become an inseparable part of the multimodal transport chain, it is a prerequisite for inland waterway transportation to strive for a higher share of transportation. Countries along the Rhine-Danube River hope that the universal and coordinated information service provided by RIS will contribute to the transportation management of inland navigation, reduce safety and environmental risks, provide interfaces with other modes of transportation, promote the integration of inland water transport and logistics, and provide one-stop management services. This pan-European information system will be implemented in the next few years.
She said that as a unique mode of transportation in economy and environment, the coordinated development of inland river transportation has become the knowledge of countries along the Rhine-Danube waterway. To this end, the EU has reached a "NAIADES" with five strategic contents, which has also become the basis for coordinated action at the pan-European level. At present, the Rhine Shipping Center Committee has issued a statement that it will cooperate with the European Union and the Danube Commission to contribute to the implementation of the action plan. The countries along the Rhine-Danube River attach great importance to the coordination and integrity of adjusting the framework of transport modes in addition to the coordinated actions involving many parties. At present, great progress is being made in the coordination of technical requirements for inland river transport vessels. In addition, the free movement of people is extremely important to ensure the coordinated development of transportation along the Rhine-Danube waterway. The River Commission and the European Union are continuing their efforts to provide uniform standards for work requirements and ensure the coordinated development of the transportation industry along the corridor.
The role of the River Commission in promoting the development of the Rhine-Danube inland transportation cannot be underestimated. The Rhine Shipping Center Committee (CCNR) is composed of Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On March 3, 2003, CCNR signed an agreement on strengthening cooperation with the European Union. They will devote themselves to establishing a framework system for promoting and developing inland water transport in Europe, and their cooperation with the Danube Commission will also be strengthened.
"With the further development of inland water transport, the Rhine-Danube waterway will become a waterway that spans Europe and is directly or indirectly used by 320 million people." She once again emphasized and expressed in her speech at the forum. At the same time, she hopes to hold more such meetings to promote the cooperation between China, Europe and the Netherlands at government level, industry level and unofficial level, and to promote the development of inland waterway transportation.
China: the leader of inland navigation development in the golden waterway of the Yangtze River.
Similar to the Rhine-Danube waterway's contribution to Europe, the Yangtze River, as the largest river in China and the third largest river in the world, runs through the eastern, central and western parts of China, with its main tributaries connecting the north and the south. Its huge energy transportation resources, important position and role are irreplaceable by other modes of transportation.
Jin Yihua, director of the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau of the Ministry of Communications, expounded the development of China Yangtze River trunk waterway at the forum. He said: since the Tenth Five-Year Plan, shipping on the Yangtze River has developed rapidly, with double-digit annual growth rates in freight volume, turnover and port throughput, surpassing the Mississippi River in the United States and the Rhine River in Europe and becoming the busiest and largest navigable river in the world at present. In 2006, the trunk ports of the Yangtze River completed cargo throughput of 780 million tons, foreign trade cargo throughput of 94 million tons and container throughput of 3.8 million TEUs. At the same time, Nantong Port has become the third 100-million-ton port on the Yangtze River trunk line after Suzhou Port and Nanjing Port. He believes that the current development momentum of shipping in the Yangtze River is very strong, which can be summarized by "five remarkable"-the capacity of trunk channels, ports, ships in the Yangtze River, the level of security and the vitality of the shipping market have been significantly improved.
Good external environment and important strategic opportunities are the basis for the development of Yangtze River shipping. China's Eleventh Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development clearly puts forward: "Actively develop waterway transportation, improve inland navigation conditions, build the golden waterway of the Yangtze River and the high-grade waterway network of the Yangtze River Delta, and promote river-sea combined transport." Taking this as the guiding ideology, the state and the provinces and cities along the Yangtze River pay more attention to the construction of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River.
On June, 2006, the first meeting of the Yangtze River Shipping Development Coordination Leading Group was held in Nanjing. At the meeting, the Ministry of Communications, together with Shanghai, Jiangsu, Anhui, Jiangxi, Hubei, Hunan, Chongqing, Sichuan and Yunnan, signed the overall promotion plan for the construction of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River in the Eleventh Five-Year Plan, and joined hands to further increase the investment and policy support for the construction of the waterway of the Yangtze River in the next five years. It is reported that during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period, the state's investment in the golden waterway of the Yangtze River will reach 654.38+0.5 billion yuan, and the construction period of the Yangtze River shipping has arrived.
Jin Yihua said that the golden waterway of the Yangtze River is the traffic artery of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the biggest advantage that distinguishes the Yangtze River Economic Belt from other regions. Seven provinces and two cities along the Yangtze River have a large population, accounting for 37.6% of the country. It is rich in resources and intensive in industries, accounting for more than 4 1% of China's total economic output. The rapid economic and social development along the Yangtze River urgently requires the Yangtze River shipping to further release its potential and improve its service level. To this end, China has set the overall goal of the Yangtze River shipping development during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period: by 20 10, the Yangtze River shipping capacity will be significantly improved, the structure will be significantly improved, and the benefits will be significantly improved; Waterways, ports, ships and supporting systems have developed in a coordinated way, basically forming a Yangtze River shipping network with coordinated trunk and branch, direct access between rivers and seas, and effective connection with other modes of transportation, and a unified, open and competitive Yangtze River shipping market; Initially realize the informationization of management, systematization of water administration supervision, rapid emergency response and standardization of administrative law enforcement in the Yangtze River shipping industry.
Jin Yihua said that in order to achieve the above goals, the important task facing the development of the Yangtze River shipping during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan period is to implement the "Overall Promotion Plan for the Construction of the Yangtze River Golden Waterway during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan", make overall plans and coordinate, and jointly implement six major projects: waterway regulation, port construction, ship type standardization, capacity expansion of the Three Gorges, water transportation guarantee and linkage between trunk and branch, so as to speed up the construction of the Yangtze River Golden Waterway. In addition, it is necessary to conscientiously implement the management of the waterway system of the Yangtze River trunk line, strengthen the navigation guarantee of the Three Gorges, ensure the key transportation, actively promote the standardization of ship types, comprehensively improve the water transport support capacity, and realize the sound and rapid development of the Yangtze River shipping.
Li Shaode, president of China Shipping (Group) Corporation, said in the forum speech that the Yangtze River shipping needs to achieve "coordinated development, regional cooperation, harmony and win-win". Li Shaode believes that container transportation is one of the advanced modes of transportation and the main symbol of transportation modernization. With the improvement of shipping conditions, the container throughput of the Yangtze River trunk line is increasing year by year, and it is expected to exceed100000 TEU by the end of the 11th Five-Year Plan. It is reported that at present, China Shipping has set up more than a dozen companies along the Yangtze River, with 8 branches in the downstream and 6 branches in the middle and upper reaches, covering the major ports in the whole Yangtze River basin.
This network and excellent staff have various advantages and strong influence in the local area. In addition, China Shipping operates more than 40 regional liners in the Yangtze River every week, with a one-way capacity of about 2800TEU per week. In 2005, the shipping volume of China Shipping in the Yangtze River was 278,000 TEU, from 1 to 1 in 2006, and the shipping volume of the Yangtze River was 25 1 000 TEU.
In order to seek greater development, China Shipping has made a strategic plan of "inland shipping development of the Yangtze River"-making full use of the superior resources of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River, actively participating in and deeply developing the shipping market along the Yangtze River through "external communication, internal cooperation and complementary advantages", realizing the working goal of "introducing foreign materials from inside and supplementing foreign materials from inside", realizing sustainable development and pursuing the synchronization of economic and social benefits. By 20 10, China Shipping plans to achieve the fleet development goal of 7 1 ship and 67400 TEU of total container space on the Yangtze River, and realize the Yangtze River traffic volume of117,000 TEU.
The country attaches great importance to development and all parties are enthusiastic. The beauty of the golden waterway of the Yangtze River is just around the corner!