(Photo provided to Xinhua Daily)

Jiangsu Province plans to complete nine major projects of navigation channel improvement by the end of the year, according to a video meeting to speed up the endeavor on December 13.

The province's transport department has vigorously promoted the construction of waterways that feature a better construction quality and improved management. Five of nine projects have passed tests this year.

In the past three years, the average annual completed investment in river navigation in Jiangsu reached nearly 4 billion yuan. The province built a total of 175 kilometers of channels and had the longest high-grade waterways among China's provincial-level regions.

Jiangsu's spending into the endeavor is expected to hit 4.23 billion yuan in 2022, a year-on-year growth of 15%. By the end of this year, main navigation channels will be 2,478 kilometers long in Jiangsu, and the 1000-ton class vessels will connect most county-level regions and province-level development zones.

The province plans to increase waterways by 260 kilometers by the end of 2025 and 340-395 kilometers before 2028.