The China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) can be traced back to the Haihe Conservancy Commission established in 1897 in Tianjin, which has evolved into today’s Tianjin Dredging Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of CCCC. Over the last 120 years and more, CCCC has developed from China’s earliest national dredging company into a global giant with its lines of business spanning from dredging to port design, and infrastructure construction.
It now has operations in more than 150 countries and regions around the world, ranking 61st in the Fortune Global 500 in 2021. World-renowned projects built by the company include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge, phase IV of Shanghai Yangshan Port, the world’s largest automated terminal, as well as Beijing-Xinjiang Expressway, the longest desert-crossing expressway in the world.
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge is the world’s longest sea-crossing bridge.
Self-Reliant Innovation
Putting science and technology first, CCCC has optimized the management mechanism for technological innovation, achieved major breakthroughs in many fields, and become a pioneer in China’s smart manufacturing.
CCCC has put in place an efficient and collaborative management system to spur innovation. It has set up a leading group for scientific and technological innovation and key core technology research, a high-end think tank, and a committee of young experts.
It has established innovation platforms in the fields of water environment, underwater tunnels, tunneling equipment, and self-driving technology, as well as two overseas research and development centers in West Africa and South Asia.
Pipe laying for the construction of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge was finished by installation ships and equipment independently developed by CCCC. The company now matches its global leading counterparts in terms of equipment design and manufacturing.
CCCC has established a 5G application research working group to help solve major problems arising from applying 5G technology in the traditional construction sector. The focus of the working group has been set on remote control, series connection, and data transmission for on-site equipment. In recent years, CCCC has cooperated with relevant units to build 5G port special networks in Shanghai Yangshan Port, Ningbo Port, and other projects, and carried out 5G pilot projects based on quay cranes, rail-mounted gantry cranes, and automatically guided vehicles to improve the efficiency and performance of traditional terminals.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), centrally-administered enterprises like CCCC have new responsibilities on their shoulders. Setting focus on technologies and equipment for major bridges building, dredging, road construction in permafrost region, floating tunnel building, shoreline renovation, and water basin protection, CCCC has contributed great energy to making technological breakthroughs, and strengthening capabilities of indigenous research as a state-level research platform.
Sustainable Development
CCCC insists on being quick in adapting to market changes and taking the lead in transformation. In construction projects abroad, it has been focusing on environmental protection and sustainable development. It has accumulated effective experience in the promotion of rural vitalization and water basin area management in various places in China, contributing to the country’s green development as a responsible company.
In Europe, CCCC is building Montenegro’s first highway of the 180-kilometer Bar-Boljare motorway. The project crosses the Tara, the country’s most important river. Since the beginning of construction, CCCC has formulated and implemented science-based measures for environmental protection. In the meanwhile, it initiated a program to treat the environment of the river. It established an effluence discharge monitoring and control system. So far, more than 1,000 experiments have been carried out on air, water, soil, and noise pollution to protect the local environment.
In South Asia, the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge is the first sea-crossing bridge in Maldives. During the implementation of the project, CCCC set up an environmental protection supervision team, and involved all construction workers in the supervision to jointly guard the pristine blue sea and sky.
The northern coast of the Gulf of Guinea in Africa is an important nestling beach for sea turtles. Five of the seven major types of sea turtles in the world originate there. At the start of the Port of Tema project, CCCC invited a famous local turtle doctor to guide the project, and set up a special area on the beach to build a turtle breeding center and guard it day and night. Under the care of the CCCC team, the success rate of hatching has reached almost 100 percent in the center, and tens of thousands of sea turtle babies were born there.
For a Community with a Shared Future
Following the new development philosophy, CCCC has adjusted its corporate strategy based on market changes and set up 278 overseas branches in 157 countries and regions around the world.
For the past few years, CCCC has built more than 13,000 kilometers of roads, more than 180 bridges, 121 deep-water berths, and 17 airports, provided more than 760 container cranes, operated 23 industrial parks, built and operated more than 10,000 kilometers of railways, signed deals worth more than US $100 billion. It has been the largest international engineering contractor for 15 consecutive years.
In doing business abroad, CCCC has been actively fulfilling its corporate social responsibilities and received unanimous praise from the international community. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway designed and constructed by CCCC passes through Tsavo National Park, Kenya’s largest safari park, and Nairobi National Park, the world’s only national park located in a capital city. In building the railway, CCCC took reference from successful cases of environmental protection in China, and devised a protection plan for wildlife based on local conditions in Kenya.
The annual East Africa Great Migration is the largest land mammal migration in the world. Animals in Tsavo National Park migrate between the east and west sides of the park every year. After communicating and consulting with the Kenyan Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Save the Elephants, Tsavo National Park, and Nairobi National Park, the CCCC design team set up 14 special animal corridors around the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway to ensure that animal migration would not be impeded.
As a company with global vision, CCCC has been adhering to the principle of regulation-compliant operation, focusing on selecting talent with versatile skills, localizing its business, and working to build a community with a shared future for mankind.
