en.Wedoany.com Reported - China Railway Engineering Equipment Group (CREG) has completed the tunneling task for the main tunnel section of the Baisha Western Water Supply Project (Phase I) in Hainan Province, using a 3.83-meter diameter hard rock tunnel boring machine (TBM), laying the foundation for the project's Phase II construction.
The Baisha Western Water Supply Project is a provincial-level infrastructure project in Hainan, implemented in two phases. Phase I includes a 15.7 km long diversion tunnel, of which a 10 km section was excavated by the TBM manufactured by China Railway Equipment. Following this breakthrough, Phase II will involve laying water pipelines to supply water to the western region of Baisha County.
The tunnel traverses the mountainous area in northern Baisha Li Autonomous County, facing geological challenges such as predominantly Class III surrounding rock, deep burial, long distance, and a small excavation diameter. To address these, CREG developed the open-type hard rock TBM model "CREG No.1004," with an excavation diameter of 3.83 meters, a main drive length of approximately 15 meters, and a total machine length of about 235 meters. The main unit weighs around 220 tons, and with the backup system, the total weight reaches approximately 650 tons.
The TBM is equipped with systems for advanced geological drilling, toxic and hazardous gas monitoring, guidance and navigation, and real-time equipment monitoring to enhance safety and performance in complex geological conditions. CREG stated that these features improve the machine's ability to manage geological risks and maintain safe and efficient operations throughout the tunneling process.
Once fully operational, the Baisha Western Water Supply Project will divert approximately 45 million cubic meters of water annually from the Songtao Reservoir to western Baisha County, providing domestic water for about 148,000 urban and rural residents, while also supporting irrigation for approximately 41,100 mu (about 2,740 hectares) of farmland. The project aims to strengthen regional water resource management, support agricultural production, improve living conditions, and enhance the ecological environment in western Hainan.
