Why is China good at doing mega projects?
By People’s
Daily Online
Over the past 70
years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the Chinese people
have given rise to numerous engineering marvels.
From lagging
behind other countries in transportation facilities to having the world’s
longest high-speed railway mileage and expressway mileage, China’s road
construction has achieved leapfrog development.
From designing
and building the first super-large bridge – the Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge –
to constructing the world’s longest cross-sea bridge – the Hong
Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge – China’s bridge construction has become a name card
of the country.
From launching
spacecraft to lunar exploration, from deep-sea manned submersibles to homemade
aircraft carriers, China has turned ambition into reality.
How can China
complete so many super engineering projects in only a few decades?
The achievements
are inseparable from the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the
advantages of its socialist system.
To build the
Nanjing Yangtze River Bridge in the 1960s, the country spent 287 million yuan,
while the gross output value of industry and agriculture in China back then was
only 140 billion yuan.
Almost all of
the country’s bridge experts were called together to design the bridge and over
7,000 builders were employed to construct the bridge from both the northern and
southern banks of the Yangtze River.
It took eight
years to finish the bridge and it opened a new chapter for China’s construction
of megaprojects.
The reason the
country is able to undertake and finish major engineering projects is that it
is able to concentrate all national efforts on big issues.
The
South-to-North Water Diversion Project, the largest of this kind in the world,
is another example of how China effectively executes plans with concerted
efforts.
To guarantee
that the project could proceed smoothly, about 380,000 people were relocated
and 500,000 residents were re-employed, as the project passes through 100
counties in seven provinces and cities.
Party
organizations and governments at all levels mobilized local officials to talk
with all impacted residents to make sure they would be willing to relocate.
The resettlement
was completed within two years, a miracle in the relocation of inhabitants in
the world. Such efficiency is a valuable asset.
What is special
about megaprojects? It is not only just about the size, but also about the
technological innovation.
China has seven
of the world’s top 10 ports in terms of handling capacity. The Yangshan
Deep-Water Port in Shanghai is one of them. Its Phase IV container terminal is
the largest automated container terminal in the world.
The core
technology of the automated port was developed by China.
Driven by
innovation and craftsmanship, China gives full play to its institutional
strengths as an economic and tech powerhouse, making these megaprojects
possible.
Source :
People’s Daily Online
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Photo taken on
April 28 shows the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge in Wuhan, Central China’s Hubei
Province. Photo by Zhao Guangliang/People’s Daily Online |

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