The Commission of Development and Reform of Yunnan Province gave a brief on the progresses of a number of key projects under construction or planning across the province at a press conference held on Sunday, February 23.

What have been involved are mainly infrastructure projects which are expected to aid in the socio-economic development of Yunnan as a whole. With an overall investment of about 1.6 trillion RMB (no less than 20 billion for each one), all the projects are underway right now.

1. Water division in central Yunnan

This project has been divided into two phases. The first phase aims to ensure the provision of clean water to several counties in central Yunnan’s Lijiang, Dali, Chuxiong, Yunnan, Yuxi and Honghe for both daily consumption and industrial uses. And the second one involves the construction of a series of facilities to deliver, transfer and reserve water resources. Having been started in 2017, this heavily invested project (with 113.5 billion RMB) is to completed in 2027.

2. Chongqing-Kunming High Speed Rail

Stretching about 700 kilometers (with 388.3 kilometers inside Yunnan province), the Chongqing-Kunming High Speed Rail has a designed speed of 350 kilometers per hour. This project, with a total investment of 141.62 billion RMB, has already been launched in the end of last year, and it is planned to be completed in 2025.

3. Yuxi-Mohan Railway

Yuxi-Mohan Railway refers to the rail road that will connect Yuxi city in central Yunnan with Mohan - a key commercial hub sitting on China’s border with Laos – by train once it’s completed. With a total length of 507 kilometers, the rail has a designed speed of 150 kilometers every hour. Approximately 51.6 billion RMB will be spent throughout the project, and it will be completed in 2021.

4. Cross-province highway networks  

Up to the end of 2019, 30 out of 82 highways associated with the cross-province highway networks have already been accomplished, with a total investment of 601 billion RMB. By 2023, as many as 7,086 kilometers of highway will be built up, spending over 1,000 billion RMB.

5. Airport expansion

Three new airstrips, two new terminals and a series of related facilities are planned to be added to the Kunming Chuangshui International Airport, one of China’s hub airports. The project is estimated to kick off later this year and be competed in 2025, with a total investment of 86.4 billion RMB.   

6. Plateau lake protection

This project focuses on protecting the nine major plateau lakes across Yunnan. Since 2017, a range of measures have been taken to ameliorate their water quality, incorporating pollution control, river channel governance, water diversion, ecological restoration and relocation, as well as resource recycling. The whole project - with a heavy investment of 67.7 billion RMB - will be accomplished in 2025.

7. Regional medical centers

Currently, there are six new regional medical centers under construction in Yunnan, including one center specializing in cardiovascular diseases, one in respiratory illnesses and other four comprehensive ones. With an overall investment of 31.4 billion RMB, these projects will be completed by 2024.

8. Kunming as a logistics hub

Kunming is determined to make itself into a major national logistics hub, leading China’s commerce with its Southeast and Southeast Asian neighbors. Having been launched in 2017, this project - with a investment around 35 billion RMB - is estimated to be finished by 2016.

9. Wudongde Arch Dam

Wudongde Arch Dam is a major infrastructure project of Yunnan being kicked off in 2018. As the world’s seventh largest hydropower station, Wudongde Arch Dam will own a generating capacity of 10,200 MW in all once it’s completed. The whole project, with an investment of 12.25 billion RMB, is estimated to be finished by the end of 2021. 

10. Dali-Ruili Railway

Dali-Ruili Rail is an integral part of the China-Myanmar International Railway currently under construction. With 330 kilometers long and a designed speed of 140 kilometers per hour, a total of 25.73 billion RMB has been invested in this project. The Dali-Baoshan and Baoshan-Ruili sections are estimated to be accomplished in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

Besides, a number of projects are under planning at present, encompassing border rails, cross-border e-commerce network, smart power network as well as intercity rails of central Yunnan.  

Trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong