At 20:30 local time on August 30 (23:30 Beijing time), a grand opening ceremony was held for the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, built with Chinese aid. Maldivian President Yameen attended the ceremony amid great jubilation. Maldives National Television broadcast the opening ceremony live.
The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge is a key demonstration project under the Belt and Road Initiative. It was implemented by CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., a central enterprise based in Wuhan, as the EPC general contractor, with China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute Co., Ltd. responsible for the construction drawing design. The bridge fully adopts Chinese technology and Chinese standards. As a world-renowned tourist destination, the Maldives relies on ships and seaplanes for inter-island transportation, and having a cross-sea bridge has been a dream for many years. The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge connects the capital Malé, the airport island transportation hub, and the new city Hulhumalé, which will effectively improve traffic and promote economic development.
From a distance, the main span V-shaped piers look like three slowly opening "seashells," and the overall shape resembles surging waves. The bridge is the world's first cross-sea bridge built under deep-sea coral reef geological conditions. Facing a series of world-class challenges, "Wuhan Strength" delivered an impressive result in just 33 months, and the project acceptance was rated as "excellent." "A century-old dream is realized today. This is a new milestone in the development of friendship between the people of China and the Maldives," said Wang Xiaotao, Chinese government representative and chairman of the China International Development Cooperation Agency, in his speech.
33 Months: A World-Class Bridge Built on Coral Reefs
On the evening of August 30 local time, the entire city of Malé, the capital of the Maldives, celebrated a bridge.
The beach near the bridge was decorated colorfully. The roadside was lined with the national flags of China and the Maldives, creating a festive scene. Seeing Chinese reporters pass by, many local residents said in Chinese: Hello!
A group of fashionably dressed young people walked onto the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, calling themselves "LUCKY BOYS." In an article, Maldivian media PSM wrote: This bridge carries the hopes and dreams of Maldivian youth.
Indeed, this bridge not only carries the hopes and dreams of local people but also embodies the hard work and blessings of Chinese builders. In 33 months, how did Chinese builders erect this world-class bridge over the Indian Ocean?
Biting Through the Toughest "Sandwich" in History
Coral reefs are rocks formed by biological growth. They are like a sandwich wrapped in steel plates, with alternating hard and brittle layers, uneven bearing capacity, and holes everywhere. If one is not careful, the steel casing used for pile foundation construction will fall into the holes.
Building a mega bridge on deep-sea coral reef geology has no precedent in the world.
Cheng Duoyun, chief engineer of the CCCC Second Harbor Engineering project, said that the first pile driven in the deep sea suffered a setback. Just as the steel casing was placed on the coral reef, before the hammer could strike, the steel casing fell down with a "bang." Learning from this lesson, the project department independently developed a "magic tool" that can automatically "hold" the steel casing and, through graded and distributed force application, firmly drive each pile into the reef limestone layer.
The Gaadhoo Strait, where the bridge is located, is called the "Sea of Devils" by locals. Even without wind, the waves here reach three to four meters, and 14-second long-period waves are even rarer. From the construction of the first steel casing in June 2016 to early December, the total number of constructible days was barely 60.
A 10,000-ton floating crane is like a leaf in the ocean; surging waves can swing the hook 20 to 30 meters, and a simple lowering process often requires dozens of attempts. When lowering Pier 19, the builders experienced the ruthlessness of the sea.
Just as the steel cofferdam was lowered into place and before it was secured, the calm sea suddenly "turned hostile," stirring up huge waves. The steel cofferdam and steel casing collided, creating a critical situation. The workers on site were both worried and afraid; if the steel cofferdam could not be secured, the bridge would be declared a failure. At this critical moment, project manager Lin Shukui rushed onto the steel casing and shouted: "I am here with you! We must secure the steel cofferdam!" First attempt, second attempt, third attempt—finally it was secured! The site erupted in cheers; this was truly a victory won with their lives!
To accurately grasp the precious "window periods," the builders lived on the floating crane ship, swaying with the waves of the Indian Ocean. Over more than 200 days, they seized less than 200 hours of "window periods" and successfully completed the task.
Putting on "Protective Clothing" to Build a Century-Old Project
The Maldives is a paradise for tourists, but it brings unimaginable challenges to builders.
The high-temperature and corrosive construction environment poses a severe test to the durability of the bridge. The salinity of the construction sea area is as high as 32 parts per thousand, higher than that of domestic cross-sea bridge sea areas, and extremely corrosive. Even the construction trestle used for building the bridge had to be replaced every two or three months. In such an environment, how can a 100-year service life be achieved?
Tan Guohong, project manager of China Railway Major Bridge Reconnaissance & Design Institute, said that in addition to using weather-resistant steel with the highest corrosion resistance, they also used high-performance marine concrete and appropriately increased the thickness of the concrete protective layer to enhance anti-corrosion capabilities during construction.
Cheng Duoyun said that the surface of the epoxy-coated steel bars was covered with a green "protective clothing" coated with silane to prevent high-salt corrosion. From cutting, transportation, on-site handling, to tying, they were careful not to cause any damage to the steel bars.