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Central SOEs Use Digital Technologies to Promote Transformation, Upgrading

Updated: 2022-04-07

Chinese central state-owned enterprises are promoting digital, networking and smart transformation and upgrading in overseas infrastructure projects.

They have introduced new platforms and technologies to improve construction and production efficiency and push forward industrial digitalization, promoting "intelligent manufacturing in China" to the world.

Smart construction contributes to revitalization of traditional cement plant

The MK3 cement plant production line renovation project in France, contracted by CBMI Construction Co., Ltd. (CBMI), was recently completed and has been put into operation.

Based on the smart construction method integrating digital operation, smart equipment and remote technology, the plant is now a technically-leading digital smart plant in the European cement industry.

The rotary kiln is a major equipment component of a cement plant and its installation was a key part of the renovation project.

According to Lin Dong, general manager of the company's French subsidiary, smart methods were used during the hoisting and installation. The engineering site and position were simulated through animation, through which the engineering space and positions of the rotary kiln body and the engineering vehicles were accurately confirmed.

Lin explained that such visualized engineering modeling helped workers understand their tasks and improved precision and efficiency in practical operation.

Remote cooperation also played a key role during the project amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

Engineers collected data and information with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sent them to a data center. The intelligent database then generated the best operational suggestions to help on-site engineers carry out further work.

Lin added that the connection between the data center and the project was cut off when the project was done, which guarantees the buyer's data security.

The renovated cement plant can realize visualized operation. Managers and operators can see data such as the distance of the devices and operation time of the bearings by touching the electronic screen. They can also directly send engineering commands on the mission management platform.

Thanks to the advanced technologies, production efficiency of the plant has increased to 5,000 metric tons of cement output daily.

It's worth noting that the project is highlighted of being green and environment-friendly.

Lin said that the plant is one of the brand-new independently-developed alternative fuel projects approved in developed countries in West Europe in recent years. With an alternative fuel ratio of 87 percent, the plant meets current low-carbon development requirements.

France has set a strategy aiming to reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Completion of the MK3 project set a model for transformation and upgrading of traditional cement plants, which will be of great significance to protecting local environments and promoting green transformation in affected areas.

In addition, the project, as an icon of green and low-carbon international cooperation, also provided jobs for local people and contributed to local economic and social development.

CBMI and LafargeHolcim signed an EPC general contract on SPL clay calcinations, intending to lower carbon dioxide emissions by 40 percent during cement production.

Lin said that adhering to the concept of green, clean, low-carbon and sustainable development, the company will step up efforts in the renewable energy and battery power storage industries and look forward to deep cooperation with more European enterprises in carbon reduction and trade.

Providing technical support to automated port construction

The port of Vado Ligure is the first automated container port in Italy and the first newly-built port in the country in the past 30 years.

With a coastline of 720 meters, the port can handle as many as 860,000 standard containers annually and is able to provide berthing for the world's largest container vessels.

In October 2016, Shanghai Zhenhua Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (ZPMC), a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC), signed an agreement to participate in construction and operation of the port.

So far, ZPMC has provided the whole set of port machinery equipment and full-life cycle spare parts as well as maintenance service for the port's construction.

Yang Yuqing, the project's manager, said that the port is the company's first smart container yard project in Europe and it is the first time a China-developed automated port equipment management system has been used in Europe. It is also a key cooperation project under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and is expected to drive local employment and boost regional economic growth in North Italy.

In order to improve adjustment efficiency of the machinery and shorten delivery time of the equipment, ZPMC used a combined adjustment mode to complete single machine adjustment and remote adjustment with the port management system in Italy before shipment.

Xu Bo, a senior electrified adjustment engineer of the project, said that ZPMC built China's first automated port-dedicated container yard in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu Province, to simulate the site of the port of Vado.

The company also recruited local engineers and trained them for future maintenance.

Giovanni Toti, President of Liguria Region, said that advanced equipment and operation systems provided by the Chinese enterprise have supported construction of Italy's first automated port.

Toti stressed that construction of the Vado automated container port is a key step in improving supply chain facilities in North Italy, Switzerland and South Germany. It will also strengthen economic trade between Liguria and African countries.

Digital technologies support large venue construction

Digital technologies have been widely used in construction of the Lusail Stadium in Doha, the main venue of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

Located about 15 kilometers north of Doha, capital of Qatar, the Lusail Stadium was built by China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC).

Being able to hold 92,000 spectators, it is the first World Cup venue to be contracted by a Chinese enterprise and the largest China-built overseas professional venue with the largest spectator capacity.

The tournament's closing ceremony, as well as its semifinal and the final matches, will be held there.

The stadium's main body is already completed.

People approaching the stadium will notice a delicately-decorated wall shining under the sun. It is made of triangle aluminum plates carved with more than 4,200 simulated enamel lantern patterns.

The plates were joined together using a point-cloud model via three-dimensional laser scanning technology and the Building Information Modeling (BIM).

Liu Dawei, the project's manager, said that it was the first time BIM has been widely used by a Chinese enterprise in an overseas ultra-large stadium for a world sports event.

He explained that the core of the BIM technology is to build a virtual construction model with the obtained building information and use the model to guide construction and operation.

In addition to BIM, geographical information system (GIS) technology was also used to optimize position selection and layout of the stadium, which improved the buyer's decision-making efficiency.

During construction, CRCC cooperated with 110 large sub-contractors from 15 countries to integrate high-quality technology resources and realized coordinated design.

Recycling use of the stadium was also considered during construction. Adhering to green and low-carbon construction, the venue will be renovated after the World Cup to serve local residents.



(Executive editor: Niu Yilin)

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