China's largest homegrown tunnel drill rolls off the production line in Changsha

China's largest tunnel drill "Jianghai," with a cutting diameter of 16.64 meters, rolled off the production line in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province, Oct. 31, 2024. (Photo/China News Service)

(ECNS) -- China's largest tunnel drill "Jianghai," with a cutting diameter of 16.64 meters, rolled off the production line in Changsha, central China's Hunan Province on Thursday.

Measuring 145 meters in length and weighing about 5,000 metric tonns, the drill will be utilized in the construction of the Haitai Yangtze River Tunnel, the world's longest underwater highway.

At a length of 39.07 kilometers, it will link Nantong City and Taicang City in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province. The submerged section is 11.185 kilometers long with a shield area of9,315 meters.

The shield tunnel has a maximum burial depth of approximately 75 meters, with a maximum water pressure of up to 7.5 bar. It traverses complex geological formations, facing unprecedented conditions and features an exceptionally long distance, large diameter, high water pressure, deep burial, and complex working conditions.

The successful rollout of "Jianghai" marks a new leap for China in the development and application of 16-meter-class, super-large-diameter tunnel drills, signifying the establishment of a fully industrialized supply chain for these machines.