Yangzhou companies play big part in construction of HZMB

Over 3,000 tons of large screw thread steel used on the HZMB is manufactured by Yangzhou Qinyou Special Metal Materials Co Ltd. [Photo/yznews.cn]

The construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB), which opened on Oct 24, brought together some of the world's most innovative construction companies including several based in Yangzhou.

As the world's longest sea-spanning structure, HZMB has a designed life span of 120 years with an excellent ability to respond to potential natural disasters such as magnitude-8 earthquakes and super typhoons, which has set high demands for the quality of steels used in the construction.

Over 3,000 tons of large screw thread steel was customized for the bridge by Yangzhou Qinyou Special Metal Materials Co Ltd, said Chen Jiarong, president of the company.

Chen added the reason why the company could take the order and finish it with a high level of quality was the advanced equipment and its years of effort in innovation to solve technical problems.   

A Yangzhou company also constructed two steel towers in the shape of sails with their heights reaching over 100 meters.

The two towers, along with a 2600-meter steel girder were constructed by China Railway Baoji Bridge (Yangzhou) Co Ltd, a large permanent production base for steel structures.

Li Pengbo, manager of China Railway Baoji Bridge (Yangzhou) Co Ltd, said technical innovations were made in the construction to meet the high demands of the bridge.

In order to reduce the impact of welding on the sea, the steel towers were transported to the construction site as a whole after being manufactured in the factory, which marked the first time this has happened in China.

As the bridge went through the reserve of wild Chinese white dolphins, the whole construction was environmentally friendly, with the installation of steel girders being required to be completed in one go to minimize the impact on the environment.

Two steel towers in the shape of sails with their heights reaching over 100 meters on the HZMB. [Photo/yznews.cn]