Recently, it was revealed that serious cutting corners and the use of substandard materials during the construction of the dam in the reservoir of the Yong’an pumped storage power station in Sanming City, Fujian Province, which is a key project in China’s “Fourteenth Five-Year Plan” with a total investment of up to 7.5 billion Chinese yuan. This has raised concerns about the overall safety of the power station. Multiple quality control personnel were reported to have accepted banquets from the construction party, with opposite-sex companions present for a fee.
The project is being constructed by the China Power Construction Group’s subsidiary, China Water Resources and Hydropower Third Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. (referred to as “Hydropower Third Bureau”). Under public pressure, China Power Construction Group reported that an investigation team has been established to look into the incident.
A deep investigation conducted by the “Economic Reference News” found serious quality defects in the construction of hundreds of anchoring piles used to reinforce the shoulders of the dam at the reservoir of the Yong’an pumped storage power station:
1. Significant reduction in actual length:
While the design drawings specified a length of 12 meters for the anchoring piles instead of the original 9 meters, it was revealed by on-site construction personnel that some anchoring piles were actually installed at lengths ranging from 3 to 5 meters, with some even less than 2 meters, significantly below the design standard of one-third. Additionally, the complete pile structure should consist of three steel bars welded together, but in actual construction, the three steel bars were only connected with simple “spot welding,” with varying lengths that failed to meet the design requirements of unity.
2. Severe shortage of cement usage:
The construction specifications for the anchoring piles require a two-step grouting process to seal the drilling space and ensure structural strength. However, construction workers revealed that while each pile hole was supposed to use 4 bags of cement, in reality, only 1 bag of cement was used for over ten pile holes. Most of the anchoring piles, after being inserted, did not receive the required amount of cement grout injection, with the construction party only applying simple sealing treatment at the opening of the pile hole to pass inspections.
One on-site worker stated, “Welding steel bars is too troublesome, estimated (only) one or two can be welded in a day, so we simplified it.” Several workers involved in the construction estimated that out of the 600-plus anchoring piles completed, only about 30% may meet the design requirements.
Experts point out that the dam in the reservoir is a critical and crucial construction of the Yong’an pumped storage power station, as its quality directly affects the long-term safety and stability of the power station operation. The reduced length of anchoring piles and insufficient grouting will directly impact the reinforcement function of the pile body, weakening the bearing and stability capacity of the overall dam slope, posing extremely high potential risks.
It is noteworthy that the reservoir slope construction of the power station, which is undertaken by the China Water Resources and Hydropower Sixteenth Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd., had a large-scale collapse incident in August this year, highlighting hidden dangers in the overall slope construction quality of the power station.
One of the core issues of this scandal lies in the exchange of benefits and regulatory dereliction between the construction and supervisory parties.
Video obtained by the “Economic Reference News” showed that multiple supervisors from the East China Consulting Company, the supervisory unit of this section, had accepted banquets from the construction party where they indulged in drinking and singing at a KTV entertainment venue, with one to two opposite-sex companions accompanying each person. According to insiders, such violations between the supervisory and construction parties have occurred more than once.
The design party (China Power Construction Group East Survey Design Research Institute Co., Ltd.), the construction party (Hydropower Third Bureau), and the supervisory party (East China Consulting Company) are all wholly-owned or controlled subsidiaries of China Power Construction Group. Industry insiders have expressed doubts about whether these three parties can fulfill their responsibilities effectively.
Faced with serious allegations of cutting corners and corruption in supervision, on November 28, officials from the Yong’an City Water Resources Bureau told “Jiemu News” that, based on their understanding, a special investigation team has been set up, and staff have been sent to the site to conduct investigations and verification.