THE Shenzhen River is likely to take on a new look in the near future, as a scenic spot.According to the plan for the fourth stage of the project, which was first put forward by the local government in 1996, a 10-kilometer long watercourse will be excavated from Shenzhen Bay to Dapeng Bay, yesterday’s Shenzhen Economic Daily reported. When completed, the new waterway is expected to accommodate the biggest floods in two centuries instead of the previous 50 years.It will also accommodate 500-ton freighters to sail nonstop from Shenzhen Bay to the Yantian port area through Dapeng Bay.Meanwhile, tourism is expected to enter its upper reaches with a bright future for real estate development and economic trade, the paper said.The regulation of the Shenzhen River has been a joint project between the Hong Kong SAR Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government. It aims to alleviate the threat of flooding in the north and northeast of the New Territories and Shenzhen. In the first three stages of the scheme, agreed to by both sides, the project is designed to realign, widen and deepen some 18 km of the Shenzhen River.A joint working group on the project with representatives from both sides were established in March 1982.(Peng Zhaoxia)