Recently, the bid-winning result of Preliminary Design for the Extension and Reconstruction Project of Dock No. 2 in Phase II of CSSC Changxing Shipbuilding Base was announced: CSSC Ninth Design & Research Institute (CSSC NDRI) successfully won the bid, and the tenderer is Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding (Group).
Previously, according to information from the Shanghai Construction Engineering Trading Service Center, the construction site of Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s “Extension and Reconstruction Project of Dock No. 2 in Phase II of CSSC Changxing Shipbuilding Base” is located at No. 888 Jiangnan Avenue, Changxing Town, Chongming District, Shanghai. The total investment of the project is approximately RMB 390 million, with a total new building area of 324 square meters and 5 sets of new (renovated) process equipment added. The project involves the reconstruction of the dock with a tonnage of more than 10,000 tons.
The main construction contents of the project include: extending Dock No. 2 by 220 meters toward the land area to a total length of 660 meters, and constructing stern and side block assembly yards with a total area of 27,180 square meters; extending the rails of the 700-ton gantry crane and the portal cranes on both sides of the dock by 223 meters and 240 meters respectively.
The pilot system will be renovated, and new process equipment such as electric winches will be deployed; auxiliary facilities such as the 7# distribution station will be newly built, and the water, electricity, gas and power supply facilities will be renovated.
It is reported that the Dock No. 2 project is the most important production facility in Phase II of CSSC Changxing Shipbuilding Base. Dock No. 2 is originally 440 meters in length (to be extended to 660 meters), 92 meters in width and 13.1 meters in depth, including facilities such as a 1,800-square-meter main engine pre-installation workshop, a 532-square-meter auxiliary building, a water pump house, an outlet pool and a substation. The main construction scope covers one dock, eight craneways, one assembly platform, revetments on both sides of the dock entrance, and two jetty wharves.
The No. 2 dock project officially started on September 30, 2021; in April 2022, the main phase of the project construction was fully completed; in April 2023, the No. 2 dock project completed the closure of the dock gate, and the overall dock construction entered the final sprint stage; in August 2023, the 700t gantry crane was completed and accepted.
In addition to the No. 2 dock extension and reconstruction project, CSSC NDRI recently won a bid for a new 1,600-ton shipbuilding gantry crane project for Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding. With a total weight of approximately 3,500 tons and a span of 172 meters, it is the largest-tonnage gantry crane ever designed and manufactured by CSDC NDRI to date, and will also become a landmark “giant” at Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding’s Changxing Base.
Public information indicates that Hudong-Zhonghua’s new facility is located along the southern coast of Changxing Island in Shanghai, covering a total construction area of 431.8 hectares and with a planned investment of RMB 18 billion (approximately US$2.507 billion).
The first phase of construction will cover 214.6 hectares, with a planned investment of RMB 8 billion (approximately US$11.14 billion). Construction projects primarily include a research and design building, a hull joint workshop, a curved block assembly and welding workshop, an outfitting module center, a coating shop, indoor dock No. 1, outdoor dock No. 2, a harbor basin and an outfitting pier. With a planned construction area of 460,000 square meters, the project will have an annual production capacity of six special vessels.
Upon completion, the project will significantly enhance Hudong-Zhonghua’s production capacity, with the ability to build large LNG carriers increasing from the current annual output of 6 vessels to over 10 vessels per year.