Infrastructure connectivity in Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration

Overall plan

According to the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration Development Plan, the region will promote the coordinated development of infrastructure construction, including transport, information, energy sources and hydraulic engineering, open up communication channels with the outside world and improve the level of internal connectivity, with the aim of optimizing the allocation of public resources and strengthening infrastructure support.

The region aims to set up a modern and comprehensive air and sea transport system and a close-knit airport cluster. The internationalization level of airports in Nanning and Haikou will be improved to realize full coverage of air routes linking the urban agglomeration with countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The region will optimize the layout of coastal ports, promote the construction of cruises and wharves in an orderly way, and accelerate the construction of deep-water berths, specialized marine terminals and deep-water channels, all of which will strengthen the planning and construction of the port distribution system and improve the level of multimodal transport.

At the same time, a rapid transport network will be built in the region, taking Nanning, Haikou and Zhanjiang as pivotal cities, and relying on multilevel rail transit and high-level highways to set up a "two vertical, two horizontal and one ring" integrated transport network. The coastal high-speed railway passage linking Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Zhanjiang and Yangjiang will be opened, and the construction of expressways linking Nanning, Pubei and Yunfu will be promoted. The intercity passenger service of Nanning-Beihai-Qinzhou-Fangchenggang High-speed Railway will be enhanced. The interurban railway linking Guigang and Yunlin, and the cross-sea channel from Zhanjiang and Haikou will be brought under the plan.

The plan also said that the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration will strengthen connectivity through land routes with ASEAN countries, and expand efficient connections between border ports and cities in the region.

Note: This is a courtesy interpretation of part of the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration Development Planning. In case of discrepancies, the Chinese text prevails.

Achievements

In recent years, a wide range of transport projects have been in full swing, including the Guiyang-Nanning, Nanning-Chongzuo and Fangchenggang-Dongxing high-speed railways, and a number of expressways such as the Yangshuo-Luzhai, Guigang-Long'an and Hezhou-Bama routes have been completed.

The Intercity Railway Network Plan of the Guangxi Beibu Gulf Economic Zone (2019-23) received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) in December 2018. According to the plan, the region will build a railway passenger network covering the economic zone, shortening the travel time from Nanning to the zone's pivotal cities to one hour.

The Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration will construct a convenient intercity railway network centering on Nanning, and linking node cities in and between the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration. The construction of the Guangxi Intercity Railway will be sped up, and the Nanning-Chongzuo-Pingxiang Intercity Railway will be programmed.

Construction of Nanning-Hengxian-Yulin and Nanning-Chongzuo intercity railways have started this year, with a total length of 325 kilometers and an investment of 51.7 billion ($7.34 billion) yuan .

The Nanning-Yulin Intercity Railway was approved by the NDRC in 2018, and construction started in January this year. Regarded as one of the most important transport projects in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Nanning-Yulin line, which will link the Beibu Gulf Urban Agglomeration and the Southeast Guangxi Town Cluster, is part of the planned Nanning-Shenzhen High-Speed Railway, as well as a key part of Guangxi's "one ring, five vertical, and five horizontal" trunk railway network.