The largest single-project in northern Jiangsu—the Nantong Xinghu City Plaza Section A project—has a total construction area of 250,000 square meters and a total investment of approximately RMB 900 million. The project is under general contracting by Nantong Construction Engineering Group.

Corps-level joint operations

Early Signs of Greatness in Six Months

　　Stepping into a newly constructed site on the north side of Xinghu Avenue and the east side of Tongsheng Avenue in the Nantong Economic Development Zone, one is met with a striking sight: 16 tower cranes stand tall and sway like a vast lattice, while scaffolding, high-formwork systems, and rebar cages are neatly arranged in orderly rows. The site buzzes with the constant presence of hard hats, as transport vehicles shuttle back and forth and the rhythmic roar of machinery rises and falls in an unceasing symphony. This vibrant, bustling scene is the construction site for Lot A of the Nantong Xinghu Urban Plaza project.

　　The Nantong Xinghu City Plaza Lot A project, under general contracting by Nantong Construction Engineering Group, boasts a total floor area of 250,000 square meters, comprising a two-level basement (including one level for civil defense) and three above-ground floors with some sections extending to four stories. With a total investment of approximately RMB 900 million, it is currently the largest single-building project in Nantong and even throughout northern Jiangsu Province. The project features extensive high-formwork systems as well as large-span, long-cantilevered prestressed structures; yet despite its massive scale, the construction schedule is tightly constrained at just 390 days—making it a quintessential example of a large-scale, highly complex project with an exceptionally compressed timeline.

　　For such a massive single-project undertaking and such an arduous construction task, the builders undoubtedly faced numerous challenges and obstacles. Yet the Nantong construction team—long renowned for tackling large-scale, high-stakes projects—showed no fear or hesitation; on the contrary, they saw this as a prime opportunity to put their skills to the test and hone their capabilities. Leveraging the group’s strong team spirit, superior management expertise, advanced technical capabilities, and robust human resources, the company formulated and rigorously implemented a corps-style operational plan. After six months of intensive, real-world execution, Section A of the Nantong Xinghu Urban Plaza has now risen from the ground, already displaying its impressive presence.

　　Before the troops move, supplies must go first.

　　Even before the company secured the contract for Lot A of the Xinghu Urban Plaza project in Nantong, it had already undertaken a comprehensive series of strategic planning and organizational arrangements for the project’s construction. Upon winning the bid, the company promptly established a Project Command Center, with Group Chairman and General Manager Zhang Xiangyang personally serving as the overall commander. The deputy commanders were appointed from among the Group’s senior executives: Zhong Yiming, Deputy General Manager of the Group and General Manager of the Third Branch Company; Yi Xingzhong, Deputy General Manager of the Group and Deputy Chief Engineer; Yin Yougen, Deputy General Manager of the Group in charge of work safety; and Yu Fengbin, Deputy General Manager of the Group and General Manager of the Installation Branch Company. At the same time, a project management team was formed, comprising nationally recognized outstanding project managers such as Zhang Qizhi, Bao Chengcheng, Wang Shaobo, as well as Xuan Xu and Wang Baoci. The establishment of such a robust command-and-coordination structure and a highly capable project implementation team has become a standard strategy and approach employed by Nantong Construction Engineering Group in recent years for several major projects.

　　The project department has comprehensively carried out preliminary planning for project management and formulated a series of internal management regulations. Specifically, it has developed the “Construction Site Safety Management Plan” to address safety management, thereby establishing clear safety management objectives for creating a provincial-level model civilized construction site. In response to conditions such as large earthwork excavation areas and heavy traffic, the department has promulgated the “Safety and Civilized Construction Management Regulations for Earthwork Excavation” and the “Earthwork Excavation Procedures and Requirements,” among other project management provisions. Furthermore, given the characteristics of extensive work areas, numerous construction tower cranes, diverse specialized trades, a large on-site workforce, and frequent use of high-formwork systems, the department has established the “Management System for the Installation and Operation of Multiple Tower Cranes,” the “Entry-Permit System for Personnel and Work Permits for High-Risk and Large-Scale Projects,” the “Regulations on Cross-Operations and Prevention of Falls from Height and Impact by Falling Objects,” the “Safety Inspection and Hazard Rectification System,” as well as a comprehensive system of responsibility for work safety management at each position within the project.

　　A sound organizational structure, a strong management team, a scientifically designed implementation plan, and rigorous institutional measures provide a reliable guarantee for the successful achievement of all project management objectives.

　　Overcome tough challenges and advance step by step.

　　The unique characteristics of the Xinghu City Plaza project posed a series of uncertainties and challenges during construction; however, through the concerted efforts of the Project Command Center and the Project Management Team, each uncertainty was thoroughly addressed and each challenge was successfully overcome:

　　—The excavation volume for the foundation pit is substantial, and the underground utility network is highly complex. The project’s foundation pit spans 500 meters east–west and 180 meters north–south, with a perimeter of 1,400 meters; the excavated area totals 82,000 square meters, the excavation depth is approximately 10 meters, and the total earthwork volume is about 820,000 cubic meters. A total of 252 deep dewatering wells have been installed to control groundwater during excavation. The basement foundation slab extends into the southern service road; however, site investigations reveal that various underground utilities are routed within this service road, which clearly poses challenges related to spatial safety and reliability as well as potential impacts on existing utilities. To address these issues, the project team procured specialized underground utility detection equipment and collaborated with the utility management authority responsible for the service road to clarify the structural configuration of the utility layout, accurately locate each utility, and implement protective measures: all buried pipelines are wrapped and encased in sleeves, while underground stormwater pipes are protected by concrete encasement. At the same time, the support design for this section was optimized to define the available working space, thereby effectively resolving the aforementioned problems.

　　—The structural phase involves numerous high-risk and large-scale works. The formwork support system includes a substantial number of high-formwork systems, alongside other highly hazardous sub-projects such as steel structure construction, which pose significant challenges to construction operations and safety management. To address these difficulties, engineering technicians conduct safety analyses of the high-formwork systems using specialized safety calculation software, develop detailed construction plans, and employ full-coverage steel-tube-and-coupler scaffolding combined with adjustable support systems. During concrete placement for the structural elements, vertical and planar structures are poured separately whenever possible, with the completed vertical structures used to provide additional support and reinforcement for the high-formwork scaffolding at critical locations, thereby ensuring the safe execution of the high-formwork construction.

　　—Multi-trade, multi-level, and multi-disciplinary concurrent operations create a complex working environment. The Xinghu City Plaza project involves approximately 45,000 square meters of single-floor construction. At the site, 16 tower cranes operate in parallel, while civil works, MEP installation, steel structure erection, exterior wall decoration, and other disciplines and trades are carried out simultaneously across multiple levels and specialties. The typical on-site workforce is around 2,000, peaking at about 2,500. To maintain order and ensure safe, well-organized operations at this intricate construction site, the project management team has established a safety management system that is zoned, tiered, and specialized by discipline. Particular emphasis is placed on strengthening safety oversight throughout the entire lifecycle of the 16 tower cranes—from their arrival on site and commissioning to routine inspections and maintenance. A dedicated tower-crane inspection team has been formed, and professional maintenance personnel have been stationed permanently on site. In addition, a unified safety-monitoring and management system has been installed on all tower cranes, enabling effective real-time monitoring and preventive measures for operator performance and crane operation, thereby ensuring that all crane operations remain safely controlled at all times.

　　—Quality control for large-area, large-volume post-pour strips is highly challenging. In this project, the 120,000-square-meter, two-level underground structure is constructed without any expansion joints; instead, post-pour strips are provided to control shrinkage-induced cracking in the concrete and to mitigate settlement cracks arising from differential vertical loading among various structural elements. To effectively address the shortcomings of conventional formwork support systems for foundation slab post-pour strips, the project’s engineering team conducted extensive field trials and research, developing a novel construction technique for such formwork support systems, which was successfully implemented in this project. This innovative approach results in clean, well-defined cavities within the post-pour strips of the foundation slab, while most of the materials used in the formwork support system can be easily dismantled and recycled, thereby fully embodying the principles of low-carbon and green construction. At the same time, it not only effectively fulfills the design functions of the post-pour strips but also ensures the structural integrity and waterproofing quality of the foundation slab, while significantly enhancing the efficiency of post-pour strip construction.

　　Strengthen the troops and they will be invincible in every battle.

　　The Xinghu City Plaza project officially broke ground on October 22, 2015. After six months of concerted and intensive efforts, all four zones—A, B, C, and D—have now been fully topped out. Despite an extremely tight schedule, unprecedented coordination challenges arising from the involvement of multiple contractors and disciplines, and frequent revisions to the construction drawings, the project has successfully maintained alignment between the construction timeline and the contractual milestone schedule. Quality and construction safety have remained firmly under control throughout, earning high praise from all relevant parties. The smooth progress of the project is a clear testament to the Group’s spirit of relentless teamwork and its exceptional ability to coordinate and collaborate effectively across departments and specialties. As a key priority project and a critical攻坚 task, every level of the organization—from senior management to frontline staff—has accorded it the highest level of attention, invested wholehearted enthusiasm, and ensured seamless integration and coordinated execution. Zhang Xiangyang, Chairman and General Manager of the Group, has closely monitored the entire lifecycle of the project, from tendering through construction, personally visiting the site on numerous occasions to provide on-site guidance and coordination. Particularly when critical issues arise, regardless of weekends or public holidays, Mr. Zhang promptly arrives to oversee and resolve them. Zhong Yiming, Deputy General Manager of the Group and General Manager of the Third Branch Company, visits the site on average once every two days. Yi Xingzhong, Deputy General Manager and Chief Engineer of the Group, serves as both Deputy Commander of the Project Command Center and the project’s chief technical officer; he spends every day, from morning till night, on-site, rigorously overseeing technical quality and resolving all technical challenges that arise during construction. Meanwhile, Yin Yougen and Yu Fengbin, in accordance with their respective responsibilities within the command structure, frequently conduct on-site inspections and promptly address any issues, ensuring that their areas of oversight are executed flawlessly. Given the tight schedule, the project operates around the clock in rotating shifts, with all project management personnel working tirelessly day and night on site. To strengthen site inspections and ensure absolute reliability, Project Manager Bao Chengcheng makes four to five full rounds of the construction site each day, including one to two rounds at night, covering approximately two kilometers per round. By this calculation, he walks as much as 10 kilometers just conducting inspections daily. Every member of the management team has demonstrated extraordinary dedication, overcoming personal and family challenges to remain steadfast at their posts and make quiet, selfless contributions toward the successful completion of the construction work.