“The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, a key project under the Belt and Road Initiative, is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic on August 20 this year. It is constructed under general contracting by CCCC Second Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd., a central SOE based in Wuhan. To achieve the completion and delivery target, more than a thousand builders stayed at their posts and worked on the front line during this year's Spring Festival. Over the azure Gaadhoo Strait, a giant dragon winds forward, connecting the three adjacent islands on the atoll: Maldives' capital Malé, the airport island, and Hulhumalé.
 Over a Thousand Builders Work Hard; Full Bridge to Be Closed in July
 At 10:30 a.m. on the 3rd (7:30 a.m. Maldives local time), Changjiang Daily reporter connected via WeChat with Wang Mingliang, director of the comprehensive office of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge project department of CCCC Second Harbor Engineering, who was far away in the Maldives and sorting out internal documents in his office. Wang Mingliang introduced that the project department has more than 600 Chinese builders, including management, technical personnel, and workers, most of whom are from Chongqing, and more than a hundred from Hubei. In addition, there are over 300 foreign employees from Maldives, Bangladesh, India, and other countries.
 At present, the project is progressing steadily according to the construction plan and has completed 80% of the total engineering volume. Currently, the five main piers of the main bridge of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge are busy with cantilever casting construction using form travelers. Among them, piers 22 and 23 of the main bridge will be closed ahead of other main piers in the near future, and the entire bridge will be closed in July. In terms of approach bridge construction, a total of 210 I-beams are to be erected. The Malé-side work area has completed all erection tasks and is currently dismantling the bridge erection machine and transferring it to the airport construction area to erect the remaining 30 beams. Nearly a hundred builders on the approach bridge deck are tying rebar for the 9th span bridge deck, advancing at an average rate of one span every 8 days.
 The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge is the first cross-sea bridge in the Maldives and the world's first cross-sea bridge built on deep ocean and coral reefs. The bridge is about 2 kilometers long, with four lanes in both directions and a design speed of 60 kilometers per hour. It includes a 1,390-meter-long cross-sea bridge and about 600 meters of roadbed.
 Project Secretary Spends Two Spring Festivals Away from Home; Wife Says She Will Bring Their Child to Walk on the Bridge Her Husband Built When It Opens
 “To complete the task, I would rather not sleep for 24 hours!” This is a true portrayal of Wang Chao, project secretary of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge project of CCCC Second Harbor Engineering. Wang Chao, a 37-year-old man from Chongqing, has participated in the construction of the Xiamen Jimei Bridge, Shanghai-Hangzhou High-Speed Railway, Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway, and Chengdu-Guiyang Railway, and is capable of tackling tough challenges.
 Since the start of construction, the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge project has faced numerous difficulties and enormous schedule pressure. To ensure the bridge is delivered on time, the entire team works day and night and strives courageously. Now, each pier of the main bridge of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge undergoes mass concrete continuous pouring on average every 13 days. Wang Chao leads by example and charges to the front line of construction. He often rushes to the site at night after a busy day to inspect safety production. Even on days when he is not scheduled for duty, he has gone deep into the site at night many times to check for hidden dangers.
 As project secretary, Wang Chao cares about every employee. From arranging activities for major festivals to improving employees' clothes-drying racks, he considers everything thoughtfully. To carry out various activities, he stays up all night busy preparing plans and organizing meticulously. In 2018, when the political situation in the Maldives was turbulent, he was even more concerned about the safety of the over a thousand builders on the project. Whenever there was any unusual situation, he would inquire and verify it at the first opportunity and inspect the camp and construction site at any time.
 To honor the commitment of a major country, during the 2018 Spring Festival, in order to create a festive atmosphere for everyone, he took the opportunity of returning to China for a meeting to bring a large number of Spring Festival couplets, lanterns, red envelopes, colored streamers, and other festive supplies from China, decorating the project camp anew. On New Year's Eve, he also organized a traditional Chinese “baba banquet,” where over a thousand builders gathered together, with Chinese and foreign employees enjoying themselves harmoniously. His wife and son in Chongqing also made a special trip to the project department to reunite with him for the New Year. This was the second time his wife came to the project department for the Spring Festival; he also did not go home last year. His wife, Jiang Haiyan, said: “When the bridge opens, I will definitely bring our child to the Maldives again and walk on the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge that my husband helped build.”