A rare serious maritime traffic jam in the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal last week raised concerns about future traffic problems, especially in 17 cities along the 1,800-kilometre canal.

Huge amounts of funds are to be used and major measures taken to ensure the great waterway is improved to handle heavier traffic due to economic growth, China Daily has learned.

In East China's Jiangsu Province, through which a big section of the canal runs, 280 million yuan (US$34 million) will be used for renovation work, local Modern Express newspaper said.

Local officials did not deny the report Tuesday.

Once invested, the improvements will be finished by next year.

The Ministry of Communications also plans to carry out a boat admittance system beginning later this year, eliminating more than 40,000 old boats from sailing in the canal.

The cause of the serious traffic jam was the collapse of a canal bridge in the Suzhou section of the waterway after a collision, according to maritime safety officials.

Last week, a boat train carrying coal bumped into the pier along the Tingsiqiao Bridge to avoid a head-on collision with another vessel.

The more than 80-metre-long and five-metre-wide bridge collapsed into the water and caused a traffic jam of more than 5,000 ships and boats in the waterway.

The canal, completed in AD 610 in the Sui Dynasty (AD 581-618), is the world's oldest and longest human-made waterway, and has played a pivotal role in canal transportation of China.

An official surnamed Zhou from the Jiangsu Communications Bureau confirmed that such an investment will be made, but would not provide details on the exact amount.

Local maritime affairs authorities worked feverishly to clean up the remains of the bridge in order to restore traffic along the waterway, and reopened the canal to traffic a few days ago.

It is estimated that more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) losses were caused by the accident.

Fortunately only two people were slightly injured.

Increasingly large number of boats and ships take the waterway, which means that any serious accidents would cause big economic losses, said local officials.

(China Daily September 8, 2004)