CMEC：Enhancing overseas adaptability to drive Chinese standards, technology and equipment “Going Global”

Company profile
 
China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) was built on its predecessor China National Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation, which was set up in 1978. In 2012, CMEC was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The core business of CMEC is engineering contracting, but as a large international conglomerate, it also extends into trade, investment, R&D and international services. With more than 40 years of experience in the engineering industry, CMEC has developed the capacity to provide one-stop, customized, complete plant solutions spanning preliminary planning, EPC, financing, and operation and maintenance, forming a project contracting system with electric power energy at the core and covering transportation, telecommunications, waterworks, building materials and cement, etc.
 
Challenges
 
China initiates the strategic planning of “Belt and Road” and encourages Chinese enterprises “going global”, which brings more opportunities for the development of Chinese enterprises in overseas, but in the meantime raises requirement for Chinese enterprise to adapt to the overseas development environment, lead the export of China technology, equipment, and standard. The Berezovsky Power Station Project undertook by China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CEMC) is located in one of the important nations along the Belt and Road, that is, the Republic of Belarus, which is characterized by severe weather conditions and lack of engineering market supplies, and in which power station projects are carried out according to European standard. How to better adapt to the local environment and overcome the challenges in standard adaption, design transfer, communication and construction in severe weather conditions, and lead the electric industry equipment, the equipment manufacturing industry in China and technical service to “going global”, is the big challenge for CMEC.
 
Solutions
 
After analyzing the local situations, CMEC managed to solve the problems brought by differences between Chinese and European standards, communicated technological difficulties with Belarus’ technicians and overcame extreme weather conditions and the lack of materials. The company adjusts measures to local conditions in the design of the project and drives partners in the supply chain to export equipment and technologies successfully as well.
 
Adjust measures to local conditions to solve problems in standard and technology
 
In light of the extreme weather conditions in Belarus, CMEC popularizes the application of new technologies in construction industry and develops 7 techniques to solve a series of difficulties in the construction. The company makes use of BIM software platform to finish the construction of building and structure models and uses 3D model to direct construction on the site. Reinforced concrete cable trench boxes are precast in segmentation to lay the floor, which helps to solve the difficulty that cables may break because of expansion and contraction during the freezing period effectively. The company also sets a precedent in the overhead pipelining of circulating water fiberglass reinforced pipes in extremely cold area, by adopting the way of overhead pipelining and other anti-freezing measures.
 
In the design stage of the project, the president of CMEC got involved in negotiations with the Belarusian side personally and arranged a team composed of over 30 design experts to stay in Belarus’ electric power design institute for as long as 8 months. After communicating with the local engineers about technological problems in project design and standard application for many times, the company determined to adopt Chinese standard in the project design, civil engineering and installation, whereas to adopt Belarusian mandatory standard in aspects like heating and ventilation, environmental protection, firefighting and anti-explosion.
 
Drive Chinese suppliers to increase the export of technologies and export of products
 
The local engineering market in Belarus is lack in materials and the purchase of staple goods requires submitting a plan and the approval of the government. There is no manufacturing industry, and industrial products mainly depend on import. Weather conditions in Belarus are severe, with a lowest temperature of 38℃ below zero. The underground water level there is very high and the depth of frozen soil can reach 1.27 meters under the surface, with a freezing period lasting 65 days. All these bring great difficulties for the transport of equipment, products and construction. Confronted with these difficulties, CMEC insists on purchasing majority of the materials and equipment from China and makes plans to transport these equipment in batches by making uses of sea transportation, barge transportation and road transportation. During the transport of combustion generators, CMEC workers are dredging while moving ahead for 2 months, because the water depth is not enough. They transported the generator to the wharf with inland water transport, and then to the site of the project with road transport in snowy and windy days.
 
Achievement
 
Since the start of the construction of the Berezovsky 427MV Combined Cycle Power Station Project in June 2011, project team of CMEC gets over difficulties in design conversion, construction in extremely cold condition and communication, and promotes the production and export of our country’s electric equipment as well as the going-out of China’s equipment manufacturing industry and technical service. The conversion and docking of project technology pioneers a way of practice for CMEC as well as other Chinese enterprises to enter Belarusian market.
 
Social benefit
 
The project design, civil engineering and installation all adopts Chinese standard. Core components of the combustion turbine used in the project is made by Siemens and other components are all produced and assembled by Shanghai Electric Group. As a result, Shanghai Electric Group acquires the complete technology of Siemens’ SGT5-4000F combustion turbine and achieves the good result of exporting the first combustion turbine it produces. As for other equipment, 90% are purchased from China. In total, over 110 sets of equipment are introduced from China, worth of USD 220 million. These equipment are transported in 80 batches, with a total weight of 55,000 revenue tons.
 
The project went through the owner’s inspection in March 2014, which is 78 days earlier than the construction period prescribed in the contract. This project is the largest gas-steam combined cycle unit put into commercial use in Belarus at present, accounting for 10% of Belarus’ electric power generation, which makes great contribution to reduce its shortage of electric power, to improve its efficiency of energy system and to push the development of economic society. The project greatly reduces consumption per unit and improves the station’s economic and technical indexes with an efficiency as high as 57%, making the economy and reliability of Brest’s energy system significantly improved.
 
The project was awarded many honors, including the First Prize for Excellent Overseas Electricity Generation Design Project, Belarusian Energy Contribution Award, Belarusian Outstanding Labor Medal, and Overseas Project Luban Prize of Luban Prize for Construction Project (national high quality project) in 2015.
 
Economic benefit
 
Since the Berezovsky Power Plant in Belarus put into operation, the power plant has run in good condition, and has also been recognized by the Sino-Belarus governments and all walks of life of the Belarus society. The proprietors signed a decade-long contract with CMEC for spare parts supply. The project is a benchmarking project of CMEC in overseas. It not only brings profits for CMEC, but also sets up the responsible brand image of CMEC, and enhances CMEC’s brand influence in Belarus and the eastern European market. The company then successfully signed Sino-Belarus industrial park power transmission and transformation project in Belarus.
 
Prospect
 
The successful project is in line with the national strategy “Belt and Road”, and it exert the influence in publicity, demonstration and promotion for the construction of Silk Road Economic Belt. The project not only brings the power and light to the people of Belarus, but also sets up a monument of Sino-Belarus friendship, which will certainly plays a positive role in deepening the mutual understanding of China and Belarus, promoting economic development, and leading the Chinese enterprises to exploit the market in Belarus and the surrounding market.