The Asia's longest heat supply pipeline project — the long-distance heat transmission and supply pipeline from the Tuoketuo Power Plant to Hohhot, capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, constructed by China Railway No. 3 Engineering Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited, has officially been put into operation.
No. 1 relay pumping station [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The project spans approximately 105 kilometers from the Tuoketuo Power Plant to Hohhot, including long-distance transmission pipelines, main pipelines in the urban area, two relay pumping stations, and one pressure isolation heat exchange station. It is Asia's longest heat project in terms of transmission distance and the largest livelihood heat project in China, with the largest single diameter of heat pipes in Asia, measuring 1.6 meters. The long-distance pipeline is 68.4 kilometers long.
The pipeline crosses multiple rivers, railways, highways, and the Yellow River water supply pipelines. The excavation and backfilling volume of trenches, pump stations, and other earthworks along the route are significant. In addition, the construction presented high requirements for environmental protection and soil conservation, which posed great challenges in project organization.
To protect the ecological environment of the grasslands in Inner Mongolia, the project team stripped the top 50 centimeters of soil and stored it in a manner that does not affect construction. They covered it with a dense mesh net, and promptly backfilled after the pipeline was laid to restore its cultivation function.
Backfilling and plowing of land along the pipeline [Photo/sasac.gov.cn]
The newly operational heating capacity of the pipeline is five million square meters, with an expected annual heating capacity of 91 million square meters once reaching full production. The project is expected to save 1.13 million tons of coal annually, contributing significantly to Hohhot's heating system reform and effective management. It aims to provide local people with warmer, more comfortable, and secure heating services, and is of great importance to Inner Mongolia's efforts to peak carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
