CCTV Finance and Economics reported that the high-speed rail along the Yangtze River in Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu, one of the 109 major projects in the 15th Five-Year Plan, is accelerating with a total investment of over 500 billion yuan and a planned total length of about 2000 kilometers, extending from Shanghai to Chengdu, connecting the Yangtze River Delta, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and the three major urban agglomerations in Chengdu and Chongqing in series. The focus of
public opinion is on the world's largest diameter high-speed rail shield tunnel 89 meters underwater in the Yangtze River, and what is more exciting for the cement industry is the resulting market demand.
Unlike some major projects that still remain on the planning paper, the demand for cement in the high-speed rail of Shanghai, Chongqing and Chengdu is not a pie in the sky, but a fact that is happening. In September
2021, the Wuhan-Yichang section was the first to start construction, and Huaxin Cement has supplied nearly 400,000 tons of cement to this section. On December 26, 2025, the Wuyi section was officially opened to traffic, and the cement consumption of the 314 km line has been fully released.
Up to now, the remaining four sections are all under construction: the section from Shanghai to Hefei (commenced in 2022), the Chengdu-Chongqing Middle Line (commenced in 2022), the section from Hefei to Wuhan (commenced in 2024), and the section from Yichang to Fuling (commenced at the end of 2024). The demand for cement is in a period of centralized release.
It is expected to bring 30 million tons of cement demand
, usually about 12000 to 20000 tons of cement per kilometer of high-speed rail construction, depending on the ratio of bridge to tunnel. The Shanghai-Chongqing-Chengdu high-speed rail has a huge topographic span-from the alluvial plain at the mouth of the Yangtze River to the high mountains in the western mountains of Hubei Province.
According to the calculation by sections, the Shanghai-Hefei section mainly in the plain is about 6.8-8.3 million tons; the Hefei-Wuhan section in the hilly area is about 5-5.9 million tons; the completed Wuhan-Yichang section is about 4.7-5.3 million tons; the Yichang section in the mountainous area, where the ratio of bridge to tunnel exceeds 80%, has the highest cement consumption per kilometer, about 8.5-10.4 million tons; The Chengdu-Chongqing middle line is about 4.7-5.5 million tons. The total cement demand of the whole line is about 30 to 35 million tons.
In addition, in high-speed rail projects, the construction of subgrade, bridge and tunnel foundations is concentrated in the early stage, consuming about 50% -60% of cement. From 2026 to 2027, the four sections are at the peak of construction at the same time, and the average annual cement consumption is expected to reach 7-9 million tons.
For the national cement market with an annual output of nearly 2 billion tons, the annual increment of 7-9 million tons is less than 0.5%, which is obviously not enough to reverse the medium-term downward trend of industry demand. However, the significance of high-speed rail along the Yangtze River lies in the structural pull at the regional level, and the increase of cement demand intensity in the provinces along the way is expected to form a substantial support for regional cement prices .
Take the Yilu section as an example. The 471 km mountain line, with a bridge-tunnel ratio of more than 80%, is the longest section with the most complex terrain and the highest cement consumption. Construction will start at the end of 2024, with a construction period of 6 years, which will continue to stimulate cement consumption in underdeveloped areas such as Enshi and Fuling until around 2030.
Which enterprises are eating meat?
From the enterprise dimension, Huaxin Cement is the most direct beneficiary. As the leader of Hubei cement , the supply experience of Wuyi Section has verified its supply capacity and project matching degree, and the Hubei region of Yilu Section and Hefei-Wuhan Section is still its core market. The headquarter
along the Yangtze River can not act as the total savior of the industry, but it can promote the regional market under the pattern of excess capacity, the development of large enterprises with advanced technology, and the upgrading of the product structure of iron standard and low-alkali cement in the industry. After years of cold winter
in the cement industry, the warmth from the beginning of the "15th Five-Year Plan" deserves to be taken seriously by the industry.
Looking forward to 2026, cement enterprises will continue to promote the supplement of clinker production capacity, shrink the total clinker production capacity, reshape the market supply pattern, but the demand will continue to decline, off-peak production may be difficult to sustain, and the cement industry will eventually return to the law of the jungle. How to establish a new consensus and restore the healthy ecology of the industry in the game of the stock market is the key to meet the current challenges.
To this end, China Cement Network will hold the 15th China Cement Industry Summit and TOP100 Award Ceremony in Hangzhou on April 9-10. At the same time, the " Cement Economy Fifty People Forum (C50) " was held. The Summit will build a platform for the docking of supply and demand and the collision of ideas, explore the path of green transformation and intelligent upgrading from the dimensions of macroeconomic insight, industrial chain synergy and technological innovation breakthroughs, plan a layout for the "15th Five-Year Plan" green development of the industry, and work together to create a new chapter of high-quality development!
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