Zheng Ping, chief analyst at industry news portal chineseport.cn, told the Global Times on Wednesday that as a major project in the nation"s water network, the opening of the canal later this year will bring sea changes to areas along its route with fresh economic opportunities with its role as a low-cost enabler for domestic and international trade.

　　"Inland water traffic has great advantage in transportation capacity and costs. While a train can typically carry 20 40-foot container or more, a waterborne vessel can easily carry over 100 such containers. So a five-times capacity is gained here, greatly reducing transportation costs for goods," Zheng said.

　　For goods that are not time sensitive, or for bulk cargo such as coal, aluminum or fertilizers, waterborne traffic has unparallel advantage, the expert noted.

　　The 134.2-kilometer-long Pinglu Canal is a key project of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor. With total investment exceeding 70 billion yuan ($10.37 billion), the canal begins at the Pingtang River estuary in Hengzhou, administered by Nanning, follows the Qinjiang River into the Beibu Gulf, according to Xinhua News Agency.

　　It is China"s first major river-to-sea canal project planned and coordinated at the national level since 1949 and is designed to accommodate vessels of up to 5,000 tons.

　　In addition to facilitating transportation, modern canal system will also have the function of water resource diversion, flood control and irrigation, greatly boosting up local economic development, Zheng said.

　　Lei Xiaohua, deputy director of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences in South China"s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the Pinglu Canal will serve as a new engine for the deep integration of industrial chains between China and ASEAN.