Recently,the navigation facilities project of the Guangxi Baise Water Conservancy Hub, led and constructed by Yunnan Communications Investment Group,water-saving ship lockcompleted capping of its main structure, laying a solid foundation for the smooth advancement of subsequent works and marking phased progress in the project's construction.

As China's first high-head water-saving ship lock with independent water-saving basins, its main structure consists of the upstream approach channel, upper lock head, lock chamber with water-saving basins on both sides, lower lock head, and downstream approach channel. It is designed to accommodate 2×500-tonne fleets while also handling 1,000-tonne single vessels, with effective dimensions of 130 m × 12 m × 4.7 m (effective length × clear width of lock chamber × sill depth).

During the construction of the ship lock, the construction team rose to the challenges and overcame various difficulties and obstacles. In tackling theplastic concretecutoff wall works, the cutoff wall, reaching a depth of more than 60 meters, had to pass through deep silt layers and be anchored in a solid rock foundation, making trenching work akin to "embroidery on muddy ground." Facing such challenges, the technical team pressed forward and developed a scientific solution. First, percussion engineering drills were used to bore the main holes, and a trenching machine was used to grab the soil between the holes to form the trench; then, slurry mixed fromclayand bentonite was circulated to flush out residual debris and reinforce the trench walls; next, the "tremie method" was adopted to steadily pour the plastic concrete, and the "joint pipe method" was used to connect the trench sections, ultimately completing the works. During the construction of the high-altitude cantilever structure, faced with a height difference of 40 meters, the construction team made precise assessments and adopted tall cantilever formwork instead of scaffold-supported construction, which not only reduced the risk of working at height but also enabled layered pouring after a single installation, greatly improving efficiency. Under complex conditions of a 1:1 slope and a maximum height difference of 15.7 meters, the team used trackless slipform instead of tracked slipform, effectively reducing the risk of personnel moving on the slope while improving construction efficiency and shortening the schedule.

The capping of the ship lock's main structure not only bears witness to the project team's technical strength and management wisdom, but also embodies a steadfast commitment to ecological protection, construction safety, and project quality. Next, Baise Company will continue to uphold a spirit of continuous improvement, adhere to low-carbon and environmental protection as core principles, and go all out to complete the remaining construction tasks, ensuring the ship lock is put into use as soon as possible and contributing to regional transportation development and economic prosperity.