On January 28, this reporter learned from the region-wide video conference on transportation work that last year our region completed 178 billion yuan in comprehensive transportation fixed asset investment, a year-on-year increase of 34.7%. Among this, highways exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time, completing 133.42 billion yuan in investment, a year-on-year increase of 35.7%; water transport completed 9.29 billion yuan in investment, a year-on-year increase of 54.5%. The region's completed fixed asset investment in highway and waterway transportation ranked 6th nationwide.
    Major project construction set multiple records. A total of 54 expressway projects were under construction throughout the year, covering 4,765 kilometers, setting a new annual high. Last year, 22 expressway projects broke ground, covering 1,726 kilometers, both unprecedented. Seven expressway projects were completed during the year, covering 777 kilometers, among which the Lipu-Yulin Expressway set records for the longest mileage completed and opened to traffic in a single instance and the largest investment scale among the region's expressways.
    Port production and waterway transport grew against the trend. Beibu Gulf Port completed a cargo throughput of 296 million tons, and container throughput exceeded 5 million TEUs for the first time, with a growth rate leading all ports nationwide and ranking among the top 10 coastal ports nationwide in container throughput and the top 40 worldwide. Inland river port cargo throughput reached 173 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 40%, among which Guigang Port exceeded 100 million tons for the first time, becoming the first inland river port with over 100 million tons in the Pearl River system; inland waterway freight volume reached 264 million tons, among which the annual cargo throughput of the Changzhou Water Conservancy Hub ship lock exceeded 150 million tons, surpassing the Three Gorges ship lock to become the ship lock with the largest cargo throughput on a natural river nationwide.
    The sea-rail intermodal trains of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor grew rapidly. A total of 4,607 trains were operated throughout the year, exceeding the total of the previous three years. Beibu Gulf Port welcomed a 100,000-ton-class large container ship for the first time, added 6 new container liner routes, and reached 52 container routes. The China-Vietnam cross-border trains passing through the Pingxiang railway port operated 1,264 trips, an increase of 23.2%, among which the Nanning-Hanoi, Vietnam cross-border container trains operated 166 trips, an increase of 50%.