“Crossing mountains, rivers, and railways”—construction has begun on what is hailed as the “most difficult” natural gas pipeline project in history. Yesterday, Beijing Gas Group announced that the Northwest Thermal Power Center project, one of Beijing's four major thermal power projects, has started construction on all three of its most challenging sections, with gas supply expected by mid-October this year, bringing natural gas heating to over 400,000 households in Beijing this winter.

　　Natural gas pipeline totals 16.3 kilometers

　　According to reports, the Northwest Thermal Power Center is the most difficult of the four major thermal power projects, requiring “three crossings”—crossing railways, roads, and rivers—at 18 locations, including 5 mountain sections, 9 river crossings, and 4 railway crossings. The natural gas pipeline runs from the West 6th Ring Road to the Northwest Thermal Power Center, totaling 16.3 kilometers, and involves the Fengtai, Mentougou, and Shijingshan districts.

　　Yesterday morning, at the construction site of the Northwest Thermal Power Center near the West 6th Ring Road, the reporter saw a deep pit 17 meters deep and about 10 meters in diameter, less than 100 meters from the Yongding River. Workers inside the pit were using a “pipe-jacking rock crusher” to excavate toward the Yongding River.

　　The natural gas pipeline crossing the Yongding River is located in the Yongding River Mencheng Lake Park section. To avoid damaging the Yongding River landscape, the project department initially conceived a combination of pipe-jacking and open-cut construction methods. Due to the complex rock structure at the riverbed, pipe-jacking is extremely difficult, advancing only about 20 centimeters per day; construction is currently proceeding intensively.

　　Hard mountain rock allows only manual excavation

　　After “wading,” comes “mountain climbing.” At the Xifengsi Gully construction site, the pipeline becomes a “pangolin.” Due to a nearly 40-meter elevation difference, the gas pipeline first requires vertical deep excavation from the top of Wolonggang Mountain in Mentougou, digging down 22 meters, then continuing at a 7-degree incline northward along the mountain for 106 meters of underground excavation, finally crossing Xifengsi Gully. “The mountain is entirely hard rock; ordinary excavators cannot even enter, and mechanical excavation is simply impossible—only manual excavation can be used,” said Wang Juwei, deputy general manager of the Engineering Construction Management Branch of Beijing Gas Group.

　　It is reported that the Northwest Thermal Power Center will be completed before the heating season this winter, with a heating capacity of 41.5 million square meters, involving more than 400,000 households, and an annual gas consumption of 2.7 billion cubic meters, equivalent to replacing 3.67 million tons of coal per year, effectively reducing soot by 14,000 tons and sulfur dioxide by 124 tons.

　　■ Related Links

　　Four major thermal power centers to be completed next year

　　The city will build four major thermal power centers: Southeast, Northeast, Southwest, and Northwest. Currently, the Southeast center in Wangsiying, Chaoyang, and the Southwest center in Caoqiao Village, Fengtai, have been completed and put into operation; the Northwest center will be fully completed in mid-October this year; and the Northeast center is undergoing civil engineering and structural construction of the plant, expected to be completed next year. By next year, all four major thermal power centers in Beijing will be completed, one year ahead of schedule.

　　After the four major thermal power centers are completed, the city will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 11 million tons per year, sulfur dioxide emissions by 7,500 tons per year, and nitrogen oxide emissions by 12,000 tons per year.

　　■ Project Overview

　　The Northwest Thermal Power Center natural gas project includes gas supply to the Gaojing Thermal Power Plant and the Shijingshan Thermal Power Plant. The pipeline is 16.3 kilometers long, starting at the southern end of the West 6th Ring Road and ending at the Northwest Thermal Power Center. The pipeline route mainly follows the planned Dahuichang Gate Station (north bank of the Mangniu River), crosses the 6th Ring Road eastward, then turns north to the Yaba River, lays north to the Boiler Plant South Road, crosses the Yongding River, crosses the Jingyuan Railway and Fushi Road, and lays along Gaojing Gully to the two power plants, involving the Fengtai, Mentougou, and Shijingshan districts along the way.