CRCC unit helps lift livelihood with infrastructure

Despite headwinds by recent COVID-19 resurgences in some parts of the country, many State-owned enterprises are increasingly engaged in infrastructure construction nationwide, especially those expected to generate long-term benefits, as a move to echo the nation's overall push in the sector to improve livelihoods and shore up economic momentum.

China Railway 24th Bureau Group Corp Ltd, a unit of the State-owned China Railway Construction Corp Ltd, is among such SOEs. The builder has just completed another part of the tunneling mission of Shaoxing Subway Line 2 in Zhejiang province on Wednesday, completing a solid foundation for the track-laying of the project.

"What makes the project a tough one is because the route has posed many big challenges to overcome, especially its tunneling work," said Wang Ligang, manager of the project department at China Railway 24th Bureau Group.

"Before our tunneling machine finally reached its journey-end at Hainan Road Station, it went underneath two rivers and two bridges, and the soil down there is mainly mucky clay, making tunneling and consolidation work tough nuts to crack," he said.

"The team, at last, made it through with countless prints of designs, on-site research and measurements," Wang said, adding that the construction work is on a steady track that is progressing toward earlier completion, after which the transport condition within the city will be greatly boosted.

According to the builder, the first phase of the Line 2 project, with a whole-path underground, has a total length of 10.55 kilometers with nine stations planned alongside it.

A unit of the CRCC, the nation's largest contractor, China Railway 24th Bureau Group is also a builder well known for many of its highway projects, which can be well reflected by its recent reconstruction project in Chongqing.

As mountainous a city as Chongqing is, local drivers have to spend extra time on winding roads before reaching their destinations, an issue that has been annoying residents. Eyeing this, China Railway 24th Bureau Group moved to "bridge"－with solutions not limited to bridges－as many roads as possible to lift transport efficiency.

The cement-pouring work of the extension project of Jinzhou Avenue and Xingguang Avenue was completed over the weekend, marking another milestone of the project before official operation this year.

Located in the Dazhulin region of Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area, the project is a key livelihood project that "will greatly reduce the driving time needed between Lijia and Xinpaifang, which is normally more than 30 minutes, or more during rush hours", said Nie Qi, a resident of Liangjiang.

The project will also relieve traffic congestion in the mountainous city and boost the intercity connection, said Zhang Jiyun, project manager with China Railway 24th Bureau Group.

According to China Railway 24th Bureau Group, the SOE has been making overall efforts in infrastructure projects to improve livelihoods and shore up economic momentum, leveraging its experience in the sector accumulated by carrying out many major projects, both at home and abroad, such as the Hongqiao Railway Hub in Shanghai and the Abuja-Kaduna Rail Line in Nigeria.

SOE peers of CRCC, such as China State Construction Engineering Corp and China Communications Construction Co Ltd, are also ramping up their efforts in the infrastructure sector, as the nation has been strengthening its efforts nationwide to advance infrastructure construction, which has been reiterated in many key meetings.

According to a statement at the 11th meeting of the Central Committee for Financial and Economic Affairs on April 27, China will make all-out efforts to strengthen infrastructure construction in the country's building of a modern infrastructure system.

Infrastructure serves as a pillar for economic and social development, the statement said. It was also highlighted during the meeting to coordinate development and security and optimize the layout, structure, functions and development models of infrastructure.