IMPROVEMENT OF WATER TRANSPORTATION ON THE HUAI RIVER

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP61S00527A000200120017-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: March 21, 2005
• Sequence Number: 17
• Publication Date: July 18, 1958
• Content Type: REPORT

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Approved For Rele 2005/04/21 :CIA-RDP61 S00527A0 02001200173 " sj
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CSM No. 594
73
Copy No.
18 July 1958
CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM
IMPROVEMENT OF WATER TRANSPORTATION ON THE HUAI RIVER
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND REPORTS
CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
This report represents the immediate views of the
originating intelligence components of the Office
of Research and Reports. Comments are solicited.
This document contains information affecting the national defense of
the United States, within the meaning of the espionage laws, Title 18
USC, Sections 793 and 794, the transmission or revelation of which
in any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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IMPROVEMENT OF WATER TRANSPORTATION ON THE HUAI RIVER
Work has been underway since 1951 on. a large-scale, multipurpose
scheme for developing the water resources of the Huai River. The
plan, intended for completion in 1962, includes flood control, ir-
rigation, power generation and navigation. It envisages the construc-
tion of 27 reservoirs and allied works, while dredging and lock build-
ing will make 3,900 kilometers of the river navigable to powered
vessels. 1/ By 1957, seven of the reservoirs had been completed and
1,642 kilometers of the Huai system were navigable, 975 kilometers
by steamboat. 2/ Work is underway on a direct water connection. between
the Hui Chi, a tributary of the Huai, and the Yellow River. 3/ A second
canal is being dug between Hungtze Lake and the Yellow Sea, This one
to terminate at Lienyun Harbor. 4/ More recently,. work has begun on a
long-range program to reconstruct the Grand Canal, formerly one of
the major inland water routes in the nation. Announced plans call
for a considerable realignment of the canal and for dredging it to
a depth sufficient for 2,000-ton barges. 5/ When completed, the canal
will provide a northerly outlet to Peipin-g and Tientsin for the Huai
River navigation system, which is already linked with the lower
Yangtze to the south.
The Huai River now ranks fifth among the rivers of China in
terms of navigable distance, being exceeded only by the Yangtze,
Yellow (Huang Ho), Pearl (Chu Chiang) and Sungari Rivers. It is the
principal inland waterway between the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, and
its connections with these rivers and the existing sketches of the
Grand Canal constitute an extensive waterway system serving Honan,
Anhwei and Kiangsu provinces.
Traffic at the present time is carried in a variety of vessels.
An undetermined number of passenger steamers, tugs, motorized junks,
and wooden sailing vessels have been reported operating on'the Huai,
but it is impossible to determine the total tonnage. It is known,
however, that over 1,900 junks were operating on the river in 1953. 6/
The only known route in operation on the Huai, from Pengpu to Shanghai,
by way of the Grand Canal, involves only the lower reaches of the
river. Partial figures suggest that approximately 60,000 tons of
freight were carried on this section. of the river in 1956. 7/ Con-
sidering that only a portion of the river is covered by'this route and
that junk traffic is probably excluded from the total, it is possible
that it represents only about one-fifth the total volume of traffic
actually moved. If so more than 300,000 tons of cargo were moved by
modern water transportation on the Huai in 1956. Some two to three
percent of the total volume of cargo moved by inland water trans-
portation in China,was carried on the Huai.
It is probably true that the Huai will have a deeper and more
stable channel as a result of the Huai River project, and that the
lakes to be created will facilitate water transportation. However,
the series of locks which will be necessary will increase operating
time considerably. The deeper channel will allow larger and more
modern vessels to be used, and it may be expected that more will be
added to the river fleet. It seems likely, however, that composition
of traffic on the Huai will remain essentially as it is now; agricul-
tural products, mainly grain and cotton, will constitute most of the
downstream traffic while manufactured goods will move upstream. How-
ever, if current plans for industrial development in the area, which
include a 50,000-ton steel plant and a 400,000-ton chemical fertilizer
plant, materialize, industrial products will make up a growing portion
of the short-haul traffic on the system. Coal mining, already an im-
portant activity in the basin, is due for further expansion.
18 July 1958 CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM 594 Page 2
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Increased yields from irrigated acreage and the simultaneous development
of local mining and industrial-activity'-will result in'a'significAn.t in-
crease in volume of traffic on the Huai ana its tributaries, but the
magnitude. of the increase cannot be estimated at this time.
A significant aspect of the Huai development program from the
point of view of water transportation is that a significant part of
the increased potential transport capacity of the river comes as a
result of the other aspects of the program, and thus relatively little
of the total investment can be charged directly to water transportation..
18 July 1958 CURRENT SUPPORT MEMORANDUM 594 Page 3
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 Analyst:
Coord
Sources:
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18 July 1958 CURRENT SUPPORTMEMORANDUM 594
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