State-owned Chinese construction firm digs deep in Russia for growth

Sixty years ago, a group of the then Soviet experts arrived in Beijing to help dig the first metro railway in China. Today, Chinese construction workers are in Moscow helping build the city's newest underground line.

The project is being undertaken by China Railway Construction Corp, a State-owned construction firm, which won the bids for building the southwestern sector of the Moscow metro railway and station projects in 2017. It was also the first time that a Chinese company was participating in a Russian underground railway project.

"It is a milestone for the underground rail construction industry to get the projects, and it's also the first time for a Chinese metro construction team to win a bid in Europe, which means China's railway construction industry has entered the high-end market," said Xue Liqiang, project manager of CRCC in Russia.

In mid-September last year, the first shield machine "Polina", made by China Railway Construction Heavy Industry Group, was exported to Russia. By successfully completing the 200-meter drive tunnel required for the Moscow subway tunnel, the shield machine officially got international acceptance. This is the first of five shield machines independently developed by China, which was exported to Russia to work in an extremely cold environment.

The second shield machine "Maria" was specially modified for local temperatures and geography situation, and started to work in Moscow early this year when the temperature was-20 C.

Zhang Haijian, the deputy Party head of the CRCC Russian Corp, told China Daily that the "China speed" has impressed the Moscow authorities, and both construction speed and quality were of the highest level at all the 31 metro stations and 71-kilometer rail that were under construction by Russian and other foreign companies.

The excellent performance of "Maria" has also drawn attention from other railway construction companies in Russia, Germany and France.

The initial bidding comprised the construction of three metro stations and a 4.6-kilometer underground railway line. According to another extended contract with Moscow Metro and Moscow Engineering Design Academy, CRCC gained construction of another 1.6-kilometer underground railway, and the whole project is set to be completed in October 2020.

Later, another contract worth more than 5.64 billion roubles ($88 million) was signed between CRCC and Moscow authorities in February this year to build a 2.95-kilometer underground railway tunnel on the eastern sector of the new metro line.

"Apart from the ordinary metro rail construction, on the new project on the east sector we will use a 10.8-meter-diameter shield machine," Zhang said, adding that in Russia there are only two such huge shield machines, which are made in Germany.

"Therefore the signing of this contract means more to our country, because it's the first time that we are bringing our large diameter shield machines abroad under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, showing the advanced level of Chinese mechanical manufacturing," Zhang said.

The cooperation was achieved under the aegis of the Belt and Road Initiative and Eurasian Economic Union, as the two programs are highly complementary, said Xue.

President Xi Jinping proposed building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known collectively as the Belt and Road Initiative, during visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia in 2013.

As part of an opening-up drive in the new era, the Belt and Road Initiative has won broad international participation as a result of its open, inclusive and win-win nature.

Xue said building the metro project under the framework of the BRI has provided many job opportunities to workers from Russia and Central Asian countries.

"Currently, there are more than 200 workers from both Russia and neighboring countries working here," Xue said, noting that Chinese language classes are provided to the workers once a week.

Meanwhile, the future stations will benefit thousands of local people in southwest Moscow, where there are lots of residential communities.

Natalie Kochkina is a pharmacy employee who lives near Prospekt Vernadskogo station, one of the three stations constructed by CRCC. She said she was looking forward to the completion of the new metro line.

"You can see from the map that this region lacks a new underground line. At present there is just one Red Line metro heading to the city center, and it is so inconvenient for us if we want to travel to the park in the northern part of the city," she said.

She said she once went to the construction site and asked when the new line will open. "When the new line opens, it will be much easier for me to travel in Moscow. I just can't wait," she said.

When the line opens, Russian people not only are able to travel easier, but feel the Chinese culture in the new station as well.

"We all know the Moscow metro system is historical and artistic, as many metro station designs are as beautiful as a museum or gallery," Xue said.

"But I am proud to tell you that CRCC managed to obtain the right to design the newly built Michurinsky Prospekt station," he said.

He said the station will be finished by a Chinese design team, and some Chinese features, such as Chinese red, plum blossom, moire cloud and Chinese knot, will be used in the station decorations.

renqi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 04/16/2019 page10)