China has commenced construction on a major $11 billion project to improve navigation on the Yangtze River, near the Three Gorges Dam. The initiative includes building large-scale ship locks aimed at accommodating larger vessels and streamlining logistics.

Eyeing massive new shipping facilities near the Three Gorges dam, China has formally begun construction on an ambitious project to enable the passage of larger vessels and streamline logistics along the nation’s most critical waterway. The centrepiece of the planned 77.2 billion yuan (US$11.4 billion) infrastructure buildout, which looks to span nearly a decade, is a series of mega ship locks – colossal structures also known as “water elevators” or “water staircases” that are built into a...