The Chinese government plans to use smart technology to ease congestion and improve safety on its highways and waterways. It also plans comprehensive upgrades to heavily-used transport routes that are nearing maximum capacity.
China Daily reports that the set of measures, jointly rolled out by the ministries of finance and transport, highlight the need to leverage existing digital infrastructure and data resources, while maximizing the use of digital technology to spur the development of smart transport and logistics.
The plan aims to introduce digital upgrades to the logistics system in 30 pilot regions, and to upgrade 85% of national expressways classified as ‘busy’, as well as 25% of national highways considered ‘busy’, along with 70% of key national waterways, in the next three years.
Chen Kun, a research fellow with the Transport Planning and Research Institute of the Ministry of Transport, said some segments of highways and waterways had reached their capacity limits. According to official statistics from late 2022, about 17 000 km of China’s expressways, or 14% of the total length, were nearing capacity limits.
National roads classified as ‘busy’ account for about 75 000 km, representing approximately 23% of the country’s total network.
“There is an urgent need to address efficiency, safety and service issues on these congested roads and important waterway segments through digital transformation and upgrades,” he said.
The plan envisages new technologies, such as Big Data, the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, being integrated into the country’s transport infrastructure. This would enable the digital upgrade of safety monitoring, operational control and emergency command systems.
Next-generation information collection and intelligent analysis systems would advance the construction of digital management systems, operational monitoring and warning platforms as well as oversight systems targeting overloaded vehicles.
Smart roadside infrastructure would also be necessary to further the development of autonomous driving.
