On June 2, the Wuxue Hengpeng Logistics Terminal project, invested and built by Hubei Hengpeng Logistics Co., Ltd. and constructed by the First Engineering Co., Ltd. of CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., completed integrated equipment commissioning and testing, marking that this modern bulk cargo terminal is ready for operation and will inject strong momentum into the integrated development of port, industry and city in Wuxue.

Wuxue Port is one of the ten major deep-water ports on the Yangtze River, with 46 kilometers of deep-water berth shoreline, and has long been known as "the first port upon entering Chu." The project is located in the Hongyang Lake operation area of the Tianjiazhen port district of Wuxue Port. The project adopts a high-pile beam-slab structure, with a construction scale of two 5,000-tonne-class bulk cargo berths; the hydraulic structures are designed to the standard for berthing 10,000-tonne-class vessels. The terminal operating platform is 265 meters long and 25 meters wide, connected to the rear land area by two approach bridges, with a full set of supporting production auxiliary facilities including power supply, environmental protection and fire protection.

The project's geological conditions are complex, with steel-plate sand layers and karst cave geology widely distributed in the construction area, bringing enormous difficulties to pile foundation construction such as pile driving. "The steel-plate sand stratum has high density and hardness, making traditional pile foundation construction techniques ineffective, while karst cave development areas are prone to quality problems such as hole collapse and deviation," introduced Chen Yong, the project's technical director. Facing this challenge, the project department innovatively adopted advanced geological drilling technology to accurately ascertain the underground geological conditions, optimized the pile foundation construction plan, and ensured the precise driving of 152 steel pipe piles.

The project efficiently utilizes the Yangtze River shoreline, replacing the surrounding old, small, scattered and disorderly terminals, further optimizing the port area layout, conserving shoreline resources, enhancing the port's intelligent and green operation level, effectively filling the bulk cargo transport gap of Wuxue Port, and improving the regional multimodal transport logistics system. "Previously, there were 6 small terminals in this water area, with an annual throughput of less than 3 million tonnes; now, corridors have replaced trucks, and after the newly built high-pile terminal is put into operation, it will achieve an annual throughput of 20 million tonnes, and transport costs will be reduced by 40%," said Zhan Jian, the project manager. The terminal enables ore to be loaded directly onto ships, connected through fully enclosed belt conveyor corridors, putting ore outbound transport on the "fast lane," reducing carbon emissions, aligning with the "green shipping" orientation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and restoring the clear waters of the Yangtze River.

After the project is put into use, it will further activate the "sea outlet" potential of the Dabie Mountain area, radiate to Hubei, Henan and Anhui and connect Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shanghai, strengthen the status of the logistics hub in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, improve the ability of goods to "reach the river and the sea," help Hubei move from being a "thoroughfare of nine provinces" to a "thoroughfare of the whole country," and build a more solid inland opening window for Hubei.

(Source: China Daily)