In December 2005, Guangdong witnessed a peak in its transportation development. A network of new railways and roadways across the province were either in or near completion. This new ganglion of transportation lines includes:

1. Cenxi-Maoming Railway (part of a railway linking Zhanjiang, a coastal city in west Guangdong, and Luoyang, a city in Henan province, central China)
2.  The Guangzhou-Zhuhai rail lines and Guangzhou-Shenzhen passenger express lines started construction
3. Guangdong-Jiangxi Expressway (Guangdong portion)
4. Chengdu-Zhanjiang Expressway (Guangdong portion)
5. The Western Costal Expressway (Zhuhai portion) was open to public use.

Since transportation is key to a region's overall economic development, Guangdong has invested heavily in its roadway, railway and waterway infrastructure.

Expressways

The newly built Huizhou-Heyuan expressway Phase II, Guangzhou-Qiangyuan expressway and Yangjiang-Maoming expressway link the prosperous Pearl River Delta (PRD) with underdeveloped areas of the province. Meanwhile, expressways connecting Guangdong with neighboring provinces within the Pan Pearl River Delta (PPRD) area are also under construction. The completion of national highway 106 renovation project earlier this year marks Guangdong's completion of renovating 10 national or provincial highways, an objective which is part of its "tenth five-year plan".

Railways

Guangdong has accelerated its railway construction in recent years. At present, an express passenger transport system is planned in the Pearl River Delta. This includes the Guangzhou-Zhuhai rail line and Guangzhou-Shenzhen passenger express line projects. Meanwhile, the construction of the Guangdong portions of main national railways and other rails connecting Guangdong with other provinces is also underway. These include the Guangzhou-Wuhan line (in Hubei province, central China) passenger express line and the Zhanjiang-Luoyang Railway.

By the end of 2005, Guangdong had 10 cross-border railways, thus improving transportation between Guangdong and other mainland destinations.

A tale of two airports

The new Guangzhou Baiyun Airport, which opened in August, 2004, has become one of the world's busiest airports with 23.39 million passengers passing through last year. The new airport has also witnessed a solid increase of cargo flow. A total of 123 domestic and international airlines link Guangzhou with most large cities in China and over 30 locations around the world. The airport, with its ultimate target to be a regional air hub, is undergoing expansion in scale and improvement in service quality.

From 2006 - 2010, the provincial airport group plans to invest 11.4 billion RMB to expand the airport, build a transfer center for exclusive use by FedEx, digitalize the airport and improve other facilities and systems. The airport aims to become one of the world's top 20 airports by the year 2015.

Meanwhile, the Shenzhen Airport has announced its intention to become south China's cargo gateway. To date, it is ranked fourth among China's airports in passenger throughput, with 15.74 million passengers last year, an increase of 10.4 percent as compared to 2003.

The two airports' future development are strongly backed by the ever-growing travel and cargo needs of the rapidly-expanding PRD region and even the PPRD area, which encompasses nine mainland provinces and Hong Kong, Macao. These two airports, together with the Hong Kong airport, are expected to form a future super world-class airport hub as they continue cooperation.

Waterway networks

In the past five years, Guangdong dredged 1,203 kilometers of waterways and improved another 817 kilometers. Now the PRD region boasts three north-south waterways, three east-west ones and 34 piers. The province has a capacity of 30.31 million standard containers per year, which catalyzes the development of riverbank cities' waterway-related industries.

Guangdong plans to invest an additional 13.7 billion RMB during the "eleventh five-year plan" period to develop inland river waterways and pier facilities, making them able to accommodate large seagoing vessels. The move will boost export activity in western Guangdong and the PPRD region's members located in southwest China as cargo transportation costs are lowered.

Guangdong is expected to become a bridge connecting the PPRD region and the rest of the world with its comprehensive transportation network.

Guangdong's Transportation Development Plan (2006-2010)

In the next five years, Guangdong will invest 290 billion RMB in transportation development projects, adding 1,316 kilometers of inland river waterways, 140 costal berths, 150 berths of 10,000 tons, and 25,000 kilometers of roads, including 2000 kilometers of expressways and 2,700 kilometers of national highways. By 2010, the province will have 140,000 kilometers of roads (including 5,000 kilometers of expressways). An expressway network, with Guangzhou and Shenzhen as its center, will be formed and Guangdong will be connected with each of its bordering provinces by two or more expressways.

Editor: Yan