2025 marks the final year of China's 14th Five-Year Plan. Recently, from ultra-high voltage power grids to high-speed railways, from pumped storage facilities to water conservancy hubs, major infrastructure projects across the country have been continuously updating their "progress bars," injecting strong momentum into economic and social development.
Industry experts indicate that major project investment is expected to increase further, with policy support intensifying and funding continuing to focus on "dual priority" construction and new productive forces cultivation. Support will emphasize new infrastructure including 5G/6G networks and computing centers, key core technology breakthroughs, and advanced manufacturing.
Since July, a series of major projects have accelerated across energy, transportation, water conservancy, and other key sectors. On August 20, State Grid Corporation of China's Ningxia-Hunan ±800kV ultra-high voltage direct current transmission project officially commenced power transmission. As a key project under the national 14th Five-Year Power Development Plan, this represents China's first approved ultra-high voltage transmission corridor primarily designed to transmit renewable energy from desert, Gobi, and wasteland wind and photovoltaic bases. The direct current line spans 1,616 kilometers across six provinces and municipalities, with total investment of 28.1 billion yuan.
According to Xing Yiteng, Deputy Director of the Development Planning Department of the National Energy Administration, monitoring data shows that in the first half of this year, China's energy infrastructure construction maintained good momentum, with under-construction and planned energy key projects completing investment exceeding 1.5 trillion yuan, representing a 21.6% year-on-year increase.
Transportation infrastructure construction is also accelerating. On August 19, the Binghui Tunnel, a key control project of the Chongqing-Kunming High-Speed Railway spanning 21.17 kilometers, was successfully completed. On August 18, the steel truss beam of the Hanjiang River Bridge, a control project for the entire Xi'an-Shiyan High-Speed Railway, was successfully closed, marking completion of the main bridge and tunnel engineering for the entire line. Additionally, projects like the successful closure of the main bridge of the Yinghe River Bridge on the Fuyang-Huaibei Railway and the full opening of Southeast Lake Avenue, a key transportation project in Changchun's 14th Five-Year Plan, continue to improve China's transportation system.
In water conservancy construction, the Liaoyang Irrigation District in Liaoning Province has been fully completed and put into operation, ensuring irrigation for over 100,000 acres of farmland and increasing annual water-saving capacity by more than 9 million cubic meters. At the Dashixia Water Conservancy Hub project in Aksu Prefecture, Xinjiang, construction progress has reached nearly 90%, with planned gate closure and water storage scheduled for late September.
Major projects serve as important pillars for economic development and key drivers of high-quality growth. National Bureau of Statistics data shows that in the first half of this year, infrastructure investment increased by 4.6% year-on-year, 1.8 percentage points higher than total investment growth, contributing 1.0 percentage point to overall investment growth.
"After more than four years of solid advancement, the 102 major projects under the 14th Five-Year Plan have achieved significant progress and results, with all planning targets expected to be completed by year-end," stated Li Chunlin, Vice Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission.
Ultra-long-term special treasury bonds and special-purpose bonds provide funding support for major project construction. It is reported that in 2025, "dual priority" construction has allocated 800 billion yuan in ultra-long-term special treasury bond funds supporting 1,459 projects, covering key areas including Yangtze River basin ecological restoration, major transportation infrastructure along the Yangtze River, and the Western Land-Sea New Corridor. The complete project list has been fully distributed.
The ninth plenary meeting of the State Council held on August 18 proposed strengthening efforts to expand effective investment, leveraging the leading role of major projects, adapting to demand changes by investing more in people and serving livelihoods, and actively promoting private investment.
Yu Ze, Associate Dean of the School of Economics at Renmin University of China, believes that domestic industrial transformation has entered a new stage. Facing a new round of global technological revolution and more complex security challenges, these new changes require further advancement of major project construction while opening broad space for project investment.
"Major project construction requires sustained capital investment, with increased funding supply expected to continue next year," stated Wang Yunjin, Chief Financial Researcher at Guangkai Chief Industry Research Institute. Funding will be provided through fiscal channels including increased issuance of ultra-long-term special treasury bonds and special-purpose bonds, along with increased fiscal budget expenditures, with ultra-long-term special treasury bonds potentially reaching over 1.5 trillion yuan next year. Additionally, funding will be provided through new policy financial instruments, Pledged Supplementary Lending (PSL), support for state-owned enterprise credit and bond financing, leveraging more social capital participation in project construction.