in the vast farmland of ten thousand mu.

As much hope as there is, so much struggle and sweat. Behind this "national-brand" water conservancy project lies the five years of overcoming obstacles and pooling wisdom to strive for excellence by the builders of the Sinohydro Bureau 11.

"There is no difficulty that cannot be solved—just get it done."

When water conservancy thrives, all industries thrive.

The Youjiang River Valley is a nationally renowned mango planting base and one of the country's "South Vegetables Transported North" bases. For many years, irrigation water has plagued the vast number of farming households in the Youjiang River Valley. For a long time, farmers could only drive tricycles to the foot of the mountains to fetch water, but such a method of transporting water clearly cannot meet the needs of industrial development.

To solve the water shortage, the Northwest Guangxi Drought Control Baise Reservoir Irrigation District Project emerged at the right time. On October 18, 2019, the builders set up their battlefield on the banks of the Youjiang River, opening the curtain on water supply. Sinohydro Bureau 11 mainly undertook Construction Sections II and III. Among them, Section II mainly involved the installation of 60.1 kilometers of pipelines for the North Main Water Transmission Line, 31 first-level high-level reservoirs, 1 water lifting pump station, 1 booster pump station, 2 surge tanks, and related electromechanical equipment and metal structure installation. Section III mainly involved 2 pump stations, 106.37 kilometers of pipeline installation, 4 water lifting pump stations, 1 surge tank, 51 first-level high-level reservoirs, etc.

On October 18, 2019, the construction of Section III of the Guangxi Baise Reservoir Irrigation District Project officially began.

Once the project started, the first major problem encountered was land acquisition and relocation.

The two sections span 2 counties and urban districts, passing through villages and market towns along the way, crossing roads, rivers, and mountains, with numerous intersection points and tremendous pressure for acquisition, modification, and relocation.

"There is no difficulty that cannot be solved—just get it done!"

Project Manager Zhang Denghui led personnel from the engineering, quality, safety, and other departments in multiple on-site surveys, actively communicating and coordinating with transportation, road administration, river channel, and other units, and establishing special ledgers to ensure that problem bottlenecks were resolved on the front line, greatly promoting the progress of project acquisition and relocation. In less than a month, they had determined the design route for a total of 7,124 mu of irrigation canals. Assistant Project Manager Li Shaolong took the initiative, actively communicating with local government, power grid, railway, and other companies to resolve line adjustment issues, organizing personnel to level the land, and helping farmers resume cultivation early.

"Only if we think one step ahead can the project deliver water one day earlier and the people benefit one day sooner." Zhang Denghui traveled back and forth between the two sections several times a day, constantly "nailed" to the construction site, meeting challenges time and again.

The construction front of the two sections is about 210 kilometers long. With the full rollout of work faces, how to efficiently advance project construction was the top priority. To grasp progress, one must grasp management and detailed arrangements. With refined management as the core, the project department followed the "list system + responsibility system + time-limit system" work mechanism, compacted and tightened responsibilities, clearly assigned responsibilities to individuals, held daily construction and production progress meetings, and strengthened full-cycle supervision and management of project construction. At the same time, the project department fully mobilized resources, focused on project construction goals, improved on-site resource allocation, increased equipment and personnel input, and organized 5 pipeline pressure testing teams with more than 110 full-time pressure testing personnel and more than 10 sets of pressure testing equipment to fully advance project construction.

Constant remembrance will surely bring an echo. The project successively completed node targets on schedule, including the breakthrough of the Baogun main pipeline surge tank adit and the main pipeline pressure water test, and received a total of 11 congratulatory and thank-you letters. The project's image won high praise from the owner and supervision unit.

"We are not afraid of many technical difficulties, only of not taking the initiative."

As the country's modern water-saving irrigation district project with the longest pressure pipeline water transmission line, the highest pressure, and the largest area in hilly regions, construction challenges were everywhere.

"The entire water transmission main pipeline has thousands of horizontal and vertical angles ranging from 5 degrees to 50 degrees. If precision is not well controlled, it is easy to delay the schedule," said Qiu Dehong, the project's chief engineer.

Axis control is the core of pipeline installation. To ensure smooth construction, Qiu Dehong led technical personnel during the day to climb mountains, cross rivers, and traverse roads, carefully surveying the site's geology and topography, and worked overtime at night to organize technical materials and study construction plans. After sufficient investigation and research, he used CAD drawing for pipe fitting to prefabricate finished elbows in advance, combined with pipe machinery and wire saw pipe cutting, to maximize installation adjustment of pipeline cut angles, greatly improving construction efficiency.

"The two sections have a total of 3 surge tanks. Not only are the rock conditions complex and diverse, but there is also water seepage. The construction environment is harsh and the construction difficulty is extremely high," said Fan Kaixuan, deputy section chief of the project's technical department.

Facing the severe situation and enormous schedule pressure, Fan Kaixuan did not dare slack off in the slightest. He organized experts for on-site discussions many times, continuously optimized construction plans, and tackled problems one by one. Following the principle of "short advance, weak blasting, strong support," the project department fully leveraged the self-supporting capacity of the surrounding rock and minimized vibration to the surrounding rock as much as possible. The method of drilling holes and placing conduits was adopted, using drainage pipes to centrally discharge water, effectively solving the problem of water seepage on rock faces. According to surrounding rock conditions, the project optimized the smooth blasting technical plan and promptly corrected blasting parameters, successfully completing the target of capping the surge tank.

"We are not afraid of many technical difficulties, only of not taking the initiative." Qiu Dehong organized project technical personnel to brainstorm, research and discuss, pool wisdom, and improve construction methods. They successively developed practical construction methods such as "Application and Promotion of K-type Socket Pipe Fittings in Ductile Iron Pipe (DIP) Installation," "Application and Promotion of Cathodic Protection in Prestressed Concrete Cylinder Pipe (PCCP) Installation," and "Application and Promotion of Combined Tie Water-Stop Screw Rods," which not only ensured project quality but also greatly saved construction time, providing solid technical support for construction.

"When everyone adds fuel, the flames rise high; pooling wisdom will surely break the deadlock."

In the Youjiang River Valley, surrounded by two mountains in a low-lying area, various machines coordinated with each other at the Linfeng Pump Station construction site, rumbling loudly.

In March 2020, when main works construction was just starting, problems followed: foundation bearing capacity tests consistently failed to meet design indicators.

"Because the foundation was weak and below the water level, although we immediately adopted high-pressure jet grouting technology, it still could not be well resolved, and construction almost came to a standstill," said Sun Xianwei, production manager of the Section III project.

Whether the contract can be fulfilled smoothly is a "weather vane" for measuring a project's construction organization capability. Sun Xianwei did not hesitate at all. He immediately communicated with the owner, project management general contractor, design, supervision, and representatives of third-party testing agencies. If one round did not work, he went for two; if two did not work, he went for three... After multiple rounds of discussion, the construction plan of foundation replacement and backfilling was finally determined. But Sun Xianwei still did not dare slack off in the slightest. He carefully watched every process on site—foundation compaction, setting out, cushion pouring, rebar installation... He hardly had a complete night's rest. After 72 days of hard work, the testing and acceptance of all pile foundations were successfully completed.

In April 2024, the Section II project entered the stage of North Main PCCP pipe and steel pipe installation, but a "27-year-old" tap water pipeline was dug up on site, which caught everyone somewhat off guard.

"This time we've really dug up a 'treasure.' This is the water transmission pipe supplying residents throughout Tianyang District," said Cao Shuaibing, work area director of the Section II project, jokingly to those around him.

At that time, it was the flood season, and the owner required that the pipeline connection task be completed before May 12. How to make the PCCP pipeline pass through the tap water pipeline without affecting residents' water use became an urgent priority. "When everyone adds fuel, the flames rise high; pooling wisdom will surely break the deadlock." Cao Shuaibing immediately organized the elite backbone of the work area to discuss, encouraging everyone to speak freely and share their views and ideas.

"We can wrap the 0.8-meter tap water pipeline with concrete and then support it with a steel structure."

"No, concrete is too heavy. A pipeline from more than 20 years ago simply cannot bear it, and displacement and leakage are very likely."

"Can we use a Bailey bridge-type steel structure to reinforce the pipe body, pour encasing concrete, and after reinforcing the pipe body, build bridge-type supports at both ends of the pipeline, using an excavator to pass through the tap water pipeline?"

"That's a good idea!" After unanimous approval from the owner, supervision, design, and the tap water company, Cao Shuaibing quickly allocated resources and successfully completed the task, clearing a major obstacle for project advancement.

"We have waited more than 20 years for this moment. We no longer have to worry about irrigating our fields!" local residents said one after another.

Through the close cooperation and tenacious efforts of all participating employees, the project completed with high quality and efficiency the "four-phase, six-section" water supply targets proposed by the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Department of Water Resources and the Baise Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government, receiving widespread praise.

If the earth has memory, it should forever remember this lovely group of Sinohydro Bureau 11 people: braving wind and rain, working under the stars and moon, trekking over mountains and rivers, all to bring gurgling clear springs into thousands of households.

Baogun Pump Station

Baogun Main Pipeline Open Steel Pipe Section

Linfeng Pump Station