On March 20, at the construction site of the Beibu Gulf Rim Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project undertaken by Sinohydro Bureau 14, a scene of bustling activity unfolded as the "Yuehai Huanbei No. 8" TBM officially commenced stepping, marking the official entry of the main tunnel excavation of the water diversion tunnel into the mechanized construction stage and pressing the "accelerator key" for the entire project construction.

The Beibu Gulf Rim Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project is a backbone project of the national water network and one of the 150 major national water conservancy projects. The project draws water from the Yunfu section of the main stream of the Xijiang River in the Pearl River Basin. The total length of the water conveyance route is approximately 490.33 kilometers, with a designed water diversion flow of 110 cubic meters per second and a multi-year average water supply of 2.079 billion cubic meters. The water-receiving area exceeds 40,000 square kilometers, benefiting more than 18 million people in the four cities of Zhanjiang, Maoming, Yangjiang, and Yunfu.

This TBM stepping section of "Yuehai Huanbei No. 8" is located on the Gaohe trunk line and shoulders an arduous construction task. The total length of the project route reaches 22.55 kilometers, including the middle and rear sections of the Hejiang inverted siphon, the Nali Tunnel, and the open channel section of the Hedi water transfer outlet. Its main hydraulic structures are complex in configuration, consisting of a drill-and-blast tunnel section (10.242 kilometers), a TBM tunnel section (9.953 kilometers), a shield tunnel section (2.2 kilometers), and an inverted siphon (0.155 kilometers). It is one of the controlling projects along the entire Beibu Gulf Rim Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project.

Sinohydro Bureau 14 will take the stepping of the "Yuehai Huanbei No. 8" TBM as a new starting point, meticulously organize construction, scientifically arrange the schedule, and, on the premise of ensuring project quality and safety, accelerate the construction of the main tunnel excavation of the water diversion tunnel, contributing to the early completion and water supply of the Beibu Gulf Rim Guangdong Water Resources Allocation Project.