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 proposes upgrading the China–ASEAN information port,
strengthening cross‑border digital infrastructure interconnectivity and orderly
siting 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.
