POWERCHINA Zhongnan Engineering Corporation Limited

Changsa, Hunan, China

To improve its hydraulic resources, the owner-operator of Wuqiangxi Hydropower Station will add 500 megawatts of installed capacity to its existing 1,200-megawatt capacity. The project presents complicated construction conditions, large engineering quantities, and a complex pipeline, compounded by the challenge of coordinating a multidiscipline team on a tight schedule. POWERCHINA ZhongNan provided engineering survey, design, and digital construction services. They realized that traditional manual design strategies were insufficient and needed integrated 3D BIM methodologies to achieve lifecycle digital plant management.

POWERCHINA ZhongNan selected ContextCapture to generate a reality mesh. Bentley’s open 3D modeling applications, including OpenPlant, established a BIM design model and digital twin. Using ProjectWise, they seamlessly shared data and models among 13 disciplines. The applications helped decrease design time by two months while resolving over 70 design issues. The digital application provided visual management and control throughout construction, reducing costs by CNY 50 million.

This project was a finalist in the Power Generation category of the 2021 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure.