Infrastructure Construction: China builds twin ships for land reclamation efforts

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03:08

China for the first time has built two identical giant ships for land reclamation efforts. The ships will be used on infrastructure projects in China and in countries along the Belt and Road. CGTN's Han Peng reports.

A maiden sail for the twin vessels.

Their completion is a milestone, marking the beginning of China's mass production of ships for land reclamation.

The construction team says each ship is able to hold 65-thousand cubic meters of mud.

That's equivalent to the size of an eight-story apartment building.

But engineers say the 100-meter-long and 30-meter-wide ships are just "medium-sized."

ZHU LIN, GENERAL MANAGER ASSISTANT CHINA COMMUNICATION CONSTRUCTION COMPANY'S SHANGHAI DREDGING GROUP "China has built much bigger ships than these two. But the purpose of having smaller ones is to make them more nimble in narrow rivers or shallow water areas."

The two ships were completed in 10 months.

Just like building an urban high-rise, it takes scaffold, cranes, and hardworking engineers.

They were built simultaneously in this dry dock in Nantong, about 100 kilometers north of Shanghai.

A high dam had blocked the Yangtze River.

When the gate was opened and water flowed in on Sunday, the ships were able to sail.

During the construction, project manager Feng Peihong brought us on board for an exclusive tour.

FENG PEIHONG, PROJECT MANAGER CHINA COMMUNICATION CONSTRUCTION COMPANY'S SHANGHAI DREDGING GROUP "This facility can be connected with a long pipe and carry out land reclamation in a distance of one kilometer away. This cannon-like pipe is where the mud can be blown out of the ship for short-distance land reclamation operation."

We visited a land reclamation site in southeastern Fujian Province.

Authorities are making more land for local islanders, in the hope of improving their livelihood.

Behind the cannon was a similar ship, but much smaller than the newly completed two.

HAN PENG FUJIAN PROVINCE "We can feel the whole ship is trembling as it is drilling through the hard rock in the bottom of the sea."

Some Chinese call the work "map editing": a term in video games which allows users to change terrains into whatever form they like.

HAN PENGFUJIAN PROVINCE "The digital map shows that I am now standing in the middle of water, but beneath my feet, it's already solid land. This machine can change water into land in just a few months."

But land reclamation is just one function.

These ships are more commonly used for dredging, which means removing mud and sand from the shores in order to make ports deeper for larger ships.

HUO SHENGYONG, GENERAL MANAGER CHINA COMMUNICATION CONSTRUCTION COMPANY'S SHANGHAI DREDGING GROUP "The two dredgers are smaller and cost lower, a good choice for developing countries. We hope they can be used in the much-needed infrastructure construction along the Belt and Road."

China is globally known for its strength in construction.

And many hope that the two new ships will be helpful with future infrastructure projects.

Han Peng, CGTN, from Jiangsu and Fujian.