China published a draft Beibu Gulf Economic Zone Opening and Development Plan for public consultation, proposing a slate of major infrastructure projects. It calls for an integrated Pinglu Canal transport system and optimized civil‑aviation airport p

2026-05-29

China published a draft Beibu Gulf Economic Zone Opening and Development Plan for public consultation, proposing a slate of major infrastructure projects. It calls for an integrated Pinglu Canal transport system and optimized civil‑aviation airport planning and feeder-route construction across the Beibu Gulf zone, accelerating preparatory work for Beihai Airport expansion and military‑civil separation at Nanning Airport to develop an ASEAN‑facing regional aviation hub. The draft proposals upgrading the China–ASEAN information port, strengthening cross‑border digital infrastructure interconnectivity and orderly sitting of computing‑power centers to create an ASEAN‑oriented computing hub. It endorses a multi‑source power mix—wind, solar, hydro, nuclear—with coordinated source‑grid‑load‑storage development and accelerates construction of a Beibu Gulf offshore wind base. It also advances major water projects, including the Beibu Gulf ring water allocation scheme, the Pinglu Canal and the Yongbei and Pinglu irrigation districts.