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Just last month, China commissioned into operation the world's longest natural gas pipeline, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, and the world's longest high-speed rail link. In the next few months, the world's largest power plant will also become fully operational in China. What enables China to build such mega projects at dazzling speed and why India can never match up?
Worlds longest cross-sea bridge
(This photo taken Tuesday, June 21, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao.
Length 36.48 kilometre
Name: Jiaozhou Bay Bridge World's longest cross-sea bridge with a length of 36.48 km
Cost: $2.3 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The bridge spans the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay in eastern Shandong province. It is expected to cut travel distances by 30 km. There is an undersea tunnel, constructed at an additional cost of $1 billion, that runs parallel to the bridge
Worlds largest power station
Capacity 18.2 gigawatts
Name: Three Gorges Dam Power Project The power station has a capacity of 18.2 gigawatts. It will generate 100 terawatt hour of power a year
Cost: $26 billion Expected to become fully operational this year The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River took over 12 years to build and was completed in 2006. The project has been controversial because of its environmental and human impact, as also the fact that it sits on a seismic fault. About 1.24 million people were displaced during construction of the dam
Worlds longest high-speed rail link
In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, a CRH380B, left, and a CRH380A are seen at the Hongqiao High-Speed Railway Center in Shanghai, China on Thursday June 16, 2011. The center will serve as a major maintenance hub for China's CRH high-speed trains ready to operate on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in late June 2011, Xinhua said.
Speed 300 km per hour
Name: Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway At 1,318 km, it is the world's longest high-speed rail link. Trains will run at 300 km/hr
Cost: $32 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The rail link between China's two most important cities will cut travel time by more than half to 4 hours, 48 minutes . There are 244 bridges along the line, and the train will traverse the world's longest bridge (164 km), and second-longest viaduct bridge in the world (114 km)
Worlds longest gas pipeline
GE has been awarded a $300 million contract to work on a new east-west natural gas pipeline in China, says vice president Joe Mastrangelo.
Length 8,700 kilometre
Name: China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline It is the world's longest pipeline carrying gas from central Asia to Chinese cities
Cost: $22 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The pipeline transports natural gas from Turkmenistan's Amu Darya River to the Pearl River Delta and through 15 Chinese provinces. It has the capacity to transmit 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually
Reasons: China focuses on regional development
The country began building large infrastructure projects in the coastal region and expanding it into the hinterland with time. In contrast, India spread the butter thin on the toast by trying to develop infrastructure all over.
Use of state power
The state exercises complete control and is in command over all land acquisitions, rehabilitation, migration and resettlement. Big infrastructure projects that involve all of this are taken care of smoothly as the state takes these as its responsibility. Developers of infrastructure projects do not have to face these hurdles that are common in India.
Building infrastructure ahead of demand
China has always believed in building infrastructure ahead of the demand build-up while India is always trying to catch up with demand. A Delhi-Jaipur road first is built on four lanes. But by the time the road is completed, the traffic would have already expanded for six lanes. China, on the other hand, builds highways or trains with spare capacity so that it can cater to the increased demand. It is an infrastructure-led growth story in China.
China does not worry about rate of returns
Most infrastructure projects take long to break even. China has used its high savings rate to mobilise capital for infrastructure investments. The rate of returns in the short term is not a factor that plays a key role. In contrast, projects in India are even built on cost-plus basis with an assured rate of returns.
Strong local self-governments
Although the central command plays a crucial role, city governments are equally empowered. Infrastructure growth is driven by urbanisation and so the city governments play a role in facilitating infrastructure in the cities. There is hardly any role for city governments in India. Urbanisation requires huge investments in infrastructure.
Adoption of latest technology and creating hub for foreign markets
China has built huge infrastructure capacities to cater to external markets. For instance, China has built capacities to export 400,000 mw of super critical boiler and turbine package. This also helps in building better infrastructure in the country.
How China builds these, and why India never does - pictures - Pictures/Videos - News in Pictures | Economic Times
Worlds longest cross-sea bridge
(This photo taken Tuesday, June 21, 2011 released by China's Xinhua news agency shows the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in Qingdao, east China's Shandong Province. China opened Thursday, June 30, 2011, the world's longest cross-sea bridge, which is 42 kilometers (26 miles) long and links China's eastern port city of Qingdao to an offshore island, Huangdao.
Length 36.48 kilometre
Name: Jiaozhou Bay Bridge World's longest cross-sea bridge with a length of 36.48 km
Cost: $2.3 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The bridge spans the mouth of Jiaozhou Bay in eastern Shandong province. It is expected to cut travel distances by 30 km. There is an undersea tunnel, constructed at an additional cost of $1 billion, that runs parallel to the bridge
Worlds largest power station
Capacity 18.2 gigawatts
Name: Three Gorges Dam Power Project The power station has a capacity of 18.2 gigawatts. It will generate 100 terawatt hour of power a year
Cost: $26 billion Expected to become fully operational this year The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River took over 12 years to build and was completed in 2006. The project has been controversial because of its environmental and human impact, as also the fact that it sits on a seismic fault. About 1.24 million people were displaced during construction of the dam
Worlds longest high-speed rail link
In this photo released by China's Xinhua news agency, a CRH380B, left, and a CRH380A are seen at the Hongqiao High-Speed Railway Center in Shanghai, China on Thursday June 16, 2011. The center will serve as a major maintenance hub for China's CRH high-speed trains ready to operate on the Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway in late June 2011, Xinhua said.
Speed 300 km per hour
Name: Beijing-Shanghai High Speed Railway At 1,318 km, it is the world's longest high-speed rail link. Trains will run at 300 km/hr
Cost: $32 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The rail link between China's two most important cities will cut travel time by more than half to 4 hours, 48 minutes . There are 244 bridges along the line, and the train will traverse the world's longest bridge (164 km), and second-longest viaduct bridge in the world (114 km)
Worlds longest gas pipeline
GE has been awarded a $300 million contract to work on a new east-west natural gas pipeline in China, says vice president Joe Mastrangelo.
Length 8,700 kilometre
Name: China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline It is the world's longest pipeline carrying gas from central Asia to Chinese cities
Cost: $22 billion Commissioned in June 2011 The pipeline transports natural gas from Turkmenistan's Amu Darya River to the Pearl River Delta and through 15 Chinese provinces. It has the capacity to transmit 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually
Reasons: China focuses on regional development
The country began building large infrastructure projects in the coastal region and expanding it into the hinterland with time. In contrast, India spread the butter thin on the toast by trying to develop infrastructure all over.
Use of state power
The state exercises complete control and is in command over all land acquisitions, rehabilitation, migration and resettlement. Big infrastructure projects that involve all of this are taken care of smoothly as the state takes these as its responsibility. Developers of infrastructure projects do not have to face these hurdles that are common in India.
Building infrastructure ahead of demand
China has always believed in building infrastructure ahead of the demand build-up while India is always trying to catch up with demand. A Delhi-Jaipur road first is built on four lanes. But by the time the road is completed, the traffic would have already expanded for six lanes. China, on the other hand, builds highways or trains with spare capacity so that it can cater to the increased demand. It is an infrastructure-led growth story in China.
China does not worry about rate of returns
Most infrastructure projects take long to break even. China has used its high savings rate to mobilise capital for infrastructure investments. The rate of returns in the short term is not a factor that plays a key role. In contrast, projects in India are even built on cost-plus basis with an assured rate of returns.
Strong local self-governments
Although the central command plays a crucial role, city governments are equally empowered. Infrastructure growth is driven by urbanisation and so the city governments play a role in facilitating infrastructure in the cities. There is hardly any role for city governments in India. Urbanisation requires huge investments in infrastructure.
Adoption of latest technology and creating hub for foreign markets
China has built huge infrastructure capacities to cater to external markets. For instance, China has built capacities to export 400,000 mw of super critical boiler and turbine package. This also helps in building better infrastructure in the country.
How China builds these, and why India never does - pictures - Pictures/Videos - News in Pictures | Economic Times
