BEIJING, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A China-developed pile-driving ship, the world's largest of its kind, departed from a port in east China's Jiangsu Province on Sunday and is heading for Brazil, where it will take part in the building of a landmark bridge that is expected to boost both connectivity and the local economy.
The vessel, built by China Railway Construction Bridge Engineering Bureau Group, is going to Brazil's northeastern coast to support the construction of the Salvador-Itaparica Bridge, the largest cross-sea cable-stayed bridge in Latin America.
Crossing the Bay of All Saints in the state of Bahia, the bridge will have a main span of 682 meters. The project totals 46.8 kilometers, including a 12.4-kilometer cross-sea section. The main pile foundation construction area has a water depth of 64 meters and complex marine geological conditions, posing significant engineering challenges.
With an operating water depth of 70 meters, a 156-meter pile frame and a pile-lifting capacity of 700 tonnes, the China-developed ship features the world's highest pile frame, largest pile-lifting capacity and deepest operating water depth, and can overcome the bottlenecks of traditional equipment in deep, far-offshore and complex sea conditions, according to the company.
It will sail through the Strait of Malacca and around the Cape of Good Hope into the South Atlantic, and is expected to arrive off Brazil's northeastern coast after a voyage of about 45 days.
Once the bridge opens to traffic, travel time between Salvador, the capital of Bahia state, and Vera Cruz on Itaparica Island will be cut from roughly one hour by ferry to around 15 minutes, while transport time for goods such as grain, cotton and fruit produced in western Bahia will also be reduced, the company noted.
The bridge, being built by a consortium of Chinese companies, is one of Brazil's largest infrastructure projects currently under construction. Equipped with advanced technology, Chinese companies have been playing a growing role in improving infrastructure and supporting local livelihoods across Brazil, with Chinese-invested projects spanning power transmission, port infrastructure, solar energy and urban rail transit. ■
