China Railway No. 8 Engineering Group (CREC-8) drilled through the Fugecun Tunnel on the Mohan-Vientiane section of the China-Laos railway on May 30th. The Fugecun Tunnel is one of the controlled projects along the whole line as well as a first-class high-risk tunnel. The successful completion of the Fugecun Tunnel marks major progress in the construction of the section and the whole railway line.
The 8,936-m Fugecun Tunnel divided into the entrance work area, No. 1 inclined shaft work area, No. 2 inclined shaft work area and the export work area. It has a maximum depth of 740 meters and runs through seven complex geological faults, which makes its construction a key bottleneck project of the railway.
The construction process has faced various difficulties dealing with foreign cultural differences, material transportation, unstable construction voltage. Nonetheless, the Chinese engineering company actively coordinated with relevant departments of the local government to create most favorable conditions for the construction of the project.
The successful completion of the Fugecun Tunnel has provided advanced experiences for the construction of tunnels under complex geological conditions of the railway, and has laid a solid foundation for the timely completion of the China-Laos railway.