On the Mediterranean coast, the sea breeze hunts. With a long whistle, the cargo ship loaded with huge steel box girders slowly departed from the port and headed towards Morocco in the northwest corner of Africa. This is not only an ordinary ocean transportation, but also another solid footnote for China and Morocco to jointly build the the Belt and Road. These silver grey steel structures are about to transform into towering bridges in foreign lands, carrying the high-speed dreams of the African continent.

Ten thousand ton steel beam spanning mountains and seas

The first batch of components shipped this time belongs to the 9th section of the Ganitra to Marrakesh high-speed railway (Ganitra to Marrakesh high-speed railway) in Morocco. As the first high-speed railway artery in Africa with a designed speed of over 350 kilometers per hour, this project carries the ambition of upgrading Morocco's national infrastructure. Section 9 is particularly crucial, as it is like a strong bond that tightly connects the political core of Rabat with the economic heart of Casablanca. The entire project includes four magnificent steel structure bridges, with a maximum length of 1100 meters per bridge and a total steel consumption of approximately 12600 tons. After its completion and opening in 2025, this channel will not only serve as an efficient "spectator corridor" for the 2030 World Cup fans, but also become a milestone on Morocco's modern transportation map.

Intelligent manufacturing overcomes the thick plate barrier

Entering the China Construction Steel Structure Manufacturing Plant located in Jiangsu, it feels like being in a "smart factory" of steel forging. Faced with the challenge of a single sheet thickness of up to 115 millimeters, traditional craftsmanship is difficult to withstand. In the workshop, the visual welding robot became the protagonist. They rely on a sharp intelligent vision system, which can not only lock the weld seam trajectory in real time, but also dynamically adjust the welding posture and parameters in milliseconds, eliminating manual errors invisibly and greatly controlling the deformation of thick plate welding. The wave of intelligence has swept through the entire chain of cutting, assembly, and welding. Coupled with BIM forward design and digital pre assembly technology, engineers have taken the lead in completing full process modeling and collision experiments in the virtual world, as if conducting a precise online rehearsal. This' trial before construction 'strategy ensures that every component is within millimeter level precision control, fully meeting the stringent requirements of the highest EXC4 level and low-temperature impact toughness at minus 50 degrees Celsius in European standards.

International acceptance received high praise

High quality and full of confidence. Before the first batch of components were packaged and shipped, a high-level "physical examination" was conducted in the factory area. A joint acceptance team consisting of the Moroccan National Railway Authority (ONCF), French supervising MOEI, authoritative laboratory LPEE, quality external control organization BIGC, and the general contractor conducted a comprehensive inspection of the product. Faced with almost perfect welds and exquisite workmanship, the French supervising director sincerely praised that China Construction Steel Structure not only delivered high-quality products, but also established a sustainable management system to ensure quality. This soft power is more valuable than a single product. With the smooth export of the first batch of components, China Construction is showing its business card ahead of schedule on the stage of the World Cup with its hardcore technology and excellent management.Editor/Yang Meiling