Provincial‑owned Enterprises in Guangdong Deliver High‑quality Infrastructure for Greater Bay Area

According to the State‑owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of Guangdong Province, several major infrastructure projects built with participation from Guangdong provincial‑owned enterprises have won prizes at the 21st China Civil Engineering Zhan Tianyou Award. These state‑owned firms have prioritised technological self‑reliance to construct high‑standard works.

Nansha Bridge, previously known as Humen Second Bridge, forms a vital cross‑Pearl‑River highway corridor within the Greater Bay Area. Developed by subsidiaries under Guangdong Transportation Group, the 12.942‑kilometre crossing features two suspension bridges with main spans exceeding one thousand metres. It stands as the first mega‑project opened to traffic after the release of the Guangdong‑Hong‑Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area Development Plan Outline. 

The whole‑life‑cycle construction integrated scientific innovation, eco‑friendly practices and intelligent building techniques. It saw the first domestic development and deployment of 1960‑MPa high‑strength steel wires for main suspension cables. 

Technical breakthroughs covered wind‑resistance for super‑long‑span suspension bridges, structural durability, fire‑resistant cable materials and BIM‑based integrated construction and maintenance management. The project has secured 48 authorised invention patents and guided the formulation of seven national and industrial standards. Its technical advances on high‑strength cables and wind‑vibration damping have been adopted on subsequent major schemes including the Shenzhen‑Zhongshan Link.

Yunfu‑Maoming‑Xinyi Expressway links the Pearl River Delta with Guangxi and provides an important economic artery connecting mountainous western Guangdong to the Greater Bay Area. Completed and opened in June 2021, the project was delivered by multiple subsidiaries of Guangdong Transportation Group. 

The construction team pursued green‑oriented building solutions. Around 1 million cubic metres of high‑liquid‑limit soil was reused on‑site, alongside 760 000 cubic metres of waste rock excavated from road tunnels. Temporary access roads were upgraded into permanent highways stretching 79.4 kilometres, cutting temporary land occupation by 33.3 hectares. 

Water‑saving measures such as intelligent sprinkling and recycled sewage systems reduced overall water consumption by roughly 50‑percent. Builders installed 32 sections of PCF ecological concrete slope protection and transplanted more than 2 300 mature native trees. Construction routes avoided 12 nature reserves and eight strictly‑controlled ecological zones. Eighteen key innovative construction initiatives, forty‑eight new‑material and new‑process applications and forty‑four minor technical improvements were rolled out on‑site. 

A domestic original core‑sampling inspection technique for abutment backfill was introduced, together with early‑warning systems for fog‑affected driving and automatic geological hazard monitoring on 94 mountain slopes. The expressway serves as a demonstration benchmark for green mountain‑region highway development.

Yangjiang Pumped‑Storage Power Station is the sole pumped‑storage facility honoured in this round of the Zhan Tianyou Award. Survey and design work was undertaken by a subsidiary under Guangdong Overseas Chinese Holdings Group, while building work involved Guangdong Construction Engineering Group. 

Situated in mountainous Yangchun, Yangjiang city, the facility acted as the key demonstration project for home‑grown 400‑MW‑class generating equipment under China’s 13th Five‑Year hydropower plan. It received official approval in October 2015, commenced main‑structure works in July 2017 and went into full commercial operation in May 2022. 

The project realised independent domestic design and manufacturing for 700‑metre‑head, high‑capacity pumped‑storage generating units. It supports cleaner energy consumption and low‑carbon transformation across Guangdong and the Greater Bay Area, having previously collected the 2024 China Excellent Electric Power Engineering award and the Guangdong Major Project Archive Golden Certificate award.

Bai’etan Greater Bay Area Arts Centre, formerly the “Three‑Museum Combination” scheme, brings together exhibition spaces for Guangdong Art Museum, the Guangdong Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition Centre and Guangdong Literature Museum. The design work was completed by Guangdong Architectural Design and Research Institute Group, an affiliate of Guangdong Hengjian Holding Company. 

This large‑scale provincial‑level cultural landmark integrates fine‑art displays, intangible‑heritage preservation and literary archives. The design team resolved technical bottlenecks for complex public buildings with a new integrated “architecture‑structure‑curtain‑wall” design philosophy. Curtain‑wall supporting components were incorporated within the main load‑bearing frame. The design realises the sailing‑themed visual impression, raises overall structural rigidity and curbs consumption of reinforcing steel and aluminium alloy materials.

Following the award recognition, Guangdong provincial‑owned state‑owned enterprises will continue to advance large‑scale infrastructure construction and deliver high‑quality projects for the Greater Bay Area.