Minhang engineers playing vital role in Belt and Road Initiative
The Hunultnu Thermal Power Plant project in Yumertalik of Turkey
Engineers from Minhang District have made great contributions to green energy sector constructions in Belt and Road countries.
Whether in the Gulf of Iskenderun of Turkey, or Karachi the biggest city in Pakistan, or the Timis riverside in Serbia, Chinese engineers wearing white helmets and navy blue uniforms are actively contributing to the green power construction in those Belt and Road countries.
They're from the Shanghai Power Equipment Research Institute of the State Power Investment Corporation (SPIC) in Minhang.
The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, drew inspiration from the concept of the Silk Road established during the Han Dynasty 2,000 years ago.
The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean via Eurasia for centuries.
Now the BRI seeks to link Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks to improve regional integration, increase trade and stimulate economic growth.
Founded in 1959, the Minhang institute evolved from the Turbine Boiler Research Institute affiliated to the former First Ministry of Machinery Building, a Category I research and development institute of the nationwide power equipment manufacturing sector.
Yumertalik of Turkey is the meeting point of Eastern and Western culture and economy. In the city's Hunultnu Thermal Power Plant, the No. 2 equipment system is in its trial stage. The project is a strategic link between China's BRI and Turkey's Middle Corridor Initiative.
In this place about 7,300 kilometers away from China, Du Yuhang, an engineer from the SPIC Minhang institute is testing the trial system step by step.
Before that he had held multiple discussions with operation and maintenance workers to ensure their improvement work could be carried out when some of the machines were halted for the trial.
The Shanghai Power Equipment Research Institute has 64 years of experience in thermal electricity engineering. It has sent one of its engineers to Turkey to help with the country's post-quake reconstruction and electric power supply maintenance.
Du, an engineer on energy saving and emission reduction, fulfilled this role independently in this foreign land.
He would climb upon a boiler or down into a condensation pit, and holding a flashlight, carefully check the densely-laid pipelines behind the facilities. Then he ticked every item on a list to make sure the machine would function well.
Du Yuhang, an engineer from the SPIC Minhang institute, checks the trial system at the Hunultnu Thermal Power Plant project in Turkey
"Though I am alone to supervise the project in a foreign land, I am supported by the entire team in my country," he said. "I am confident about our tech service and our ability to ensure the Hunultnu Thermal Power Plant project to operate well."
Like Du, Liu Wei, another engineer from the Minhang institute, has spent 150 days supervising a combined cycle power plant in Serbia, which is about 8,500 kilometers away from Shanghai.
Liu Wei works 1,000 kilometers away for the combined cycle power plant in Serbia.
Starting from Karachi of Pakistan and heading west is a place called "Paradise Corner" by the locals.
From the place people are able to see the K2 and K3 machine sets of Karachi's nuclear power plant looming above the Eagle Bay along the Arabian Coast. The project was the first overseas project of China using its Hua-long Pressurized Reactor, a third-generation nuclear power technology self-developed by China.
The Minhang institute was responsible for the K3 excitation system debugging.
Yu Keke, an engineer from the coal machinery technology center of the institute, supervised the successful trial test of the generator.
Due to the project, Yu spent the 2023 Spring Festival in Karachi alone. But he didn't feel sorry for himself because he valued his duty.
