Govt steps up construction of key projects to restart logistics industry

The government is accelerating the construction of this year's major logistics projects, including national logistics hubs, and key cold-chain logistics bases, to promote work resumption in the fight against the epidemic, said an official on Friday.

Gao Gao, deputy secretary-general of the National Development and Reform Commission, said at a news conference that "The major infrastructure construction projects will speed up the reopening process of related logistics firms."

"We also encourage and support the local governments to prioritize the supply of epidemic prevention and control materials to the related enterprises and projects, to ensure the smooth logistics resumption across the country," he said.

According to Gao, based on local conditions, China's central government is guiding and promoting employees in the logistics industry across China to resume work in an orderly manner. The NDRC is offering local governments guidance on adjusting and setting up the conditions for reopening and personnel movement, and canceling unreasonable approval procedures.

"We should continue to establish and expand point-to-point return-to-work channels, and encourage employees, especially those in the low-risk areas, to resume work as soon as possible, while urging enterprises to implement employee health protection measures," he said.

According to the NDRC, by the end of February, the work resumption ratio for logistics firms across the country surpassed 60 percent. The road freight sector continued to catch up, with the vehicle operation rate recovering to 70 percent. The reopening rate of logistics industrial parks was nearly 90 percent.

Gao said in the next step, the NDRC will work with relevant departments to coordinate the collaborative operation of the entire logistics industry chain, to promote the resumption of production of all sectors, so that logistics enterprises and the entire real economy can return to normal.

Currently, logistics related to daily necessities have recovered well, with a high ratio of achieving production quota. However, logistics related to manufacturing was relatively weak, as it involves the collaboration along the upstream and downstream industry chain. Therefore, the focus for the next stage will be the coordination within the whole industrial chain and between regions, Gao said.

"New technologies, such as big data, is important to enhancing the industry's emergency support capabilities, as well as its quality and efficiency. It is encouraged to develop smart logistics, to build a better supporting environment," he added.