China National Engineering Research Center for Dredging Technology and Equipment Co., Ltd.

The Dredging Research Center is a scientific research and development institution approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in November 2011. It was established by China Communications Shanghai Waterway Engineering Bureau Co., Ltd. through integrating the main scientific and technological R&D departments of its subsidiaries. The Key Laboratory of Waterway Dredging Technology for the Transportation Industry, which relies on the center for its operations, is a provincial-level R&D institution. The center focuses on four major development directions: efficient and energy-saving dredging technology, localization and standardization of advanced dredging tools and components, automation and optimization of dredging monitoring systems, and beneficial use of dredged soil and environmentally friendly dredging technology. It has achieved certain research results and staged progress.
The Dredging Research Center currently has 66 scientific research personnel, primarily from well-known domestic universities such as Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, University of Science and Technology, Wuhan University, Dalian University of Technology, Hohai University, Tianjin University, Shanghai Maritime University, and Tongji University. Professional fields involve port and waterway engineering, ship equipment, water conservancy engineering, geotechnical engineering, surveying and mapping engineering, mechanical automation, signal and information processing, electronic information engineering, and control theory and control engineering, among specialized directions related to the laboratory's research. According to incomplete statistics, over the past decade, the Dredging Research Center and its main constituent units have achieved 2 National Science and Technology Progress Awards, 16 provincial and ministerial level Science and Technology Progress Awards, obtained 9 invention patents, 28 utility model patents, and 14 computer software copyrights; they have led or participated in the compilation of 2 provincial and ministerial standards and more than 10 enterprise-level standards and specifications.
The Dredging Research Center currently has a Science and Technology Management Department responsible for scientific R&D and related management work, and has established three scientific R&D departments: the Dredging Equipment Design Research Institute, the Engineering Research Institute, and the Key Laboratory. Among them, the Key Laboratory, established in 2002, is currently the largest and strongest comprehensive dredging technology R&D base in China. The Key Laboratory conducts research in four main directions: coastal and inland waterway dredging and land reclamation technology, beneficial use of dredged soil and ecological-environmental dredging technology, dredging equipment and process research, and dredging equipment detection and control technology. It has produced a series of research results, such as "environmental dredging and treatment and disposal of contaminated sediment technology," "large-scale closure technology," "sediment separation and graded utilization technology," "new embankments and full-length reinforced sandbags and sand blankets technology," "ultra-long-distance hydraulic transport technology," and "deep-water high-concentration sand extraction technology," which have been applied and promoted in engineering practice, featuring distinct research characteristics and technical advantages.
The Dredging Research Center currently has four locations for scientific research offices, test bases, and industrialization: the center headquarters at Pudong Avenue and Dongge Road, covering an area of 28,573 square meters, used for R&D units' office space and the manufacturing of dredging tools and equipment; a site at Caozhen, covering an area of 31,363 square meters, used for dredging equipment installation and commissioning, and for ship manufacturing, outfitting, final assembly, and fabrication of steel structures and components; a large-scale scientific research base at Gucui Road, covering an area of 17,794 square meters; and a test base at Caolu for large dredging pumps, environmental dredging, and foundation treatment. Among these, the Gucui Road site is under construction, intended for a dredging process and equipment test platform, multifunctional dredging tool wave flume test platform, mud hopper model test platform, trailing suction hopper dredger simulation platform, and supporting office facilities, expected to be completed in 2015. Additionally, this test base plans to construct platforms such as a dredging transportation test platform and a cutter suction dredger simulation platform.