Largest boring machine launched into operation
2025-08-27 19:08:00
By Yan Wanqin.
China’s largest open-type rock tunnel boring machine went into operation Monday at a water diversion project in Yichang. This project will channel water from the Yangtze River to the Hanjiang River as part of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
The new machine, named "Jianghan Linghang," has an excavation diameter of 11.93 meters, measures about 180 meters long and weighs roughly 3,000 tons. It can advance up to 350 meters per month. Compared with traditional tunnel boring methods like drilling and blasting, the machine is five times more efficient.
Equipped with driver-assistance systems, muck identification technology, and a cutterhead monitoring system, the machine can better manage risks such as rock bursts and water inflows at operational depths of up to 846 meters, according to Hu Nan, the boring machine project manager.
As the first step of the follow-up construction of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, this 194.7-kilometer project will channel water from the Three Gorges Reservoir area to the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River.
Once completed, it is expected to increase the amount of diverted water to 11.51 billion cubic meters annually. From November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2024, the project transferred over 8 billion cubic meters of water.
Tan Qiangming contributed to this story.
China’s largest open-type rock tunnel boring machine went into operation Monday at a water diversion project in Yichang. This project will channel water from the Yangtze River to the Hanjiang River as part of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.
Video by Zhu Haoying, Xu Zhengyu
The new machine, named "Jianghan Linghang," has an excavation diameter of 11.93 meters, measures about 180 meters long and weighs roughly 3,000 tons. It can advance up to 350 meters per month. Compared with traditional tunnel boring methods like drilling and blasting, the machine is five times more efficient.
Equipped with driver-assistance systems, muck identification technology, and a cutterhead monitoring system, the machine can better manage risks such as rock bursts and water inflows at operational depths of up to 846 meters, according to Hu Nan, the boring machine project manager.
As the first step of the follow-up construction of the middle route of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, this 194.7-kilometer project will channel water from the Three Gorges Reservoir area to the Hanjiang River, a tributary of the Yangtze River.
Once completed, it is expected to increase the amount of diverted water to 11.51 billion cubic meters annually. From November 1, 2023 to October 31, 2024, the project transferred over 8 billion cubic meters of water.
Tan Qiangming contributed to this story.
