On the east and west banks of the Suez Canal in Egypt, two sections of railway bridges slowly rotate horizontally with the rotation of their respective 9,000-ton rotating devices. 18 minutes later, the two bridges were accurately connected at the center of the canal, marking the completion of the main structure reconstruction of the old railway bridge of the Suez Canal. Karim Mohammad, an Egyptian worker at the construction site, couldn't help but sigh: "Chinese technology is too advanced, whether it is railway surveying or the installation and welding of bridge steel structures!"

The Suez Canal starts from Port Said in the north and ends at Suez City in the south. In 2015, in order to solve the increasing congestion of the canal, the Egyptian government opened a 72-kilometer parallel canal on the east side of the Suez Canal to expand the traffic capacity and create a new economic growth point.

A single-lane railway bridge over the Suez Canal, built in 2001, connects Ismailia Province and the Sinai Peninsula. This is a typical swing-opening railway bridge, which is connected by two symmetrical bridges. Usually, the two bridges are suspended on both sides of the canal to facilitate the passage of ships. When the train needs to pass, the two bridges are connected by horizontal rotation to form a railway track. With the rapid development of Egypt's economy, the transport capacity of the old railway bridge can no longer meet the needs of the economic development of the Suez Canal corridor. In addition to problems such as disrepair and aging machinery, the Egyptian government has decided to build a new railway bridge on the new canal. The railway bridge was transformed into two-lane traffic to improve traffic efficiency.

The new railway bridge construction and old bridge renovation projects are jointly implemented by China Sichuan Highway and Bridge Construction Group Co., Ltd. and Sinoma International Chengdu Building Materials Institute of China National Building Materials Group Co., Ltd. Since its launch in October 2018, the Chinese team has conducted many studies, demonstrations and adjustments to the design and construction plan. "The reconstruction of the old railway bridge is a difficult project. More than 3,500 welded steel structural components need to be replaced and added, weighing 5,000 tons and the welding length exceeds 20,000 meters. The technical difficulty is very high, and there is no experience in the world to follow." Gou Yong, head of the Sichuan Road and Bridge Project, said.

The Chinese team carried out technical research on the key devices required in the docking process of the bridge, and used a digital control system to shorten the docking time from 25 minutes to less than 18 minutes. After overcoming the adverse effects of high temperature in desert areas, large temperature difference between day and night and wind and sand on the installation, the reconstruction of the main structure of the old railway bridge was completed at the end of May this year, and it has now entered the final stage of the auxiliary project.

Construction of railway bridges over the new canal is also progressing steadily. After the completion of the new railway bridge, the travel time on both sides of the new canal will be shortened from the fastest 30 minutes by ferry to 3 minutes for a single passage by railway transportation, and the transportation capacity and traffic efficiency will be doubled.

Chinese companies are trustworthy. Mesba, the project manager of the Egyptian owner, said: In the context of the raging epidemic and the unstable international situation, the railway bridge project has been steadily advancing, which fully demonstrates the technical strength and responsibility of Chinese enterprises.

In the process of project promotion, Chinese enterprises focus on cultivating local Egyptian employees. During the peak construction period, Egyptian employees accounted for more than 80%. Karim will work on the project in 2020 and will be responsible for engineering surveys. Under the guidance of Chinese masters, I learned to use total station, global positioning system, level and so on. Many thanks to my Chinese colleagues who helped me improve my skills. Karim said that after the project is completed, it will drive the economic development of his hometown, and our life will get better and better.

Mohamed Ibrahim, project manager of the bridge department of the Egyptian National Railway Administration, said that after the completion of the new canal railway bridge, it will open up local railway transportation channels, speed up the flow of bulk goods, effectively promote the construction of the Suez Canal corridor, and help Egypt's "Vision 2030" to be realized.Editor/XingWentao