Three Gorges Development Company recently announced that the China Three Gorges Corporation Engineering Inspection Center, which it established, has successfully passed the national expanded scope assessment for inspection and testing institution accreditation (CMA) and obtained the highest-level "Double A" qualification for water conservancy project quality inspection. "This 'national-level' recognition is a testament to our years of continuous efforts to enhance core functions and improve core competitiveness," said Mao Sanjun, Chairman of Three Gorges Development Company.
The China Three Gorges Corporation's 2026 work conference emphasized focusing on primary responsibilities and core businesses, shaping core advantages, and building a lasting enterprise. In the first year of the 16th Five-Year Plan period, Three Gorges Development Company is leveraging its solid professional foundation and sustained innovative vitality to fully commit to serving the strategic goals of China Three Gorges Corporation and supporting national major projects.
Having grown by serving major projects, Three Gorges Development Company plays a key technical service role in the construction and quality safety assurance of power production for China Three Gorges Corporation. It is a primary vehicle for the corporation's project supervision, consulting, and inspection capabilities.
Over its 28-year history, from the Three Gorges Project to four giant power stations on the Jinsha River, and to fully undertaking the supervision tasks for all offshore wind power projects of China Three Gorges Corporation during the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the company has consistently adhered to the meticulous "Three Gorges Supervision" standard. It has continuously optimized its business models, proactively adapted to market changes, and achieved simultaneous growth in project scale and service quality. The Fujian Changle Offshore Wind Farm Project Zone A, supervised by Three Gorges Development Company, was awarded the 2025 China High-Quality Electric Power Project Prize.
During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the company adjusted and optimized its strategic positioning. By intensifying efforts in both internal and external markets of China Three Gorges Corporation and actively exploring diverse cooperation models, it has deeply participated in major base projects, pumped-storage power projects, and new energy projects within the corporation. This has preliminarily established a diversified development pattern characterized by "multi-business synergy and linkage between internal and external markets," laying a foundation for development in the 16th Five-Year Plan period.
"Looking ahead to the 16th Five-Year Plan period, we will fully ensure the supervision of strategic projects like the new Three Gorges waterway and actively expand into areas such as deep-sea offshore wind power and major water conservancy projects, continuously consolidating our leading position in the supervision industry," said Li Zheng, General Manager of Three Gorges Development Company.
Innovation is the primary driver of development, while core technical capabilities and a high-quality talent team remain the foundation for a company's survival and growth. Rooted in major project supervision and professional technical services, Three Gorges Development Company persistently integrates technological innovation with talent cultivation, allowing them to mutually reinforce each other and solidify the cornerstone of long-term competitive advantage.
Since the start of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the company has achieved significant scientific and technological innovations, accumulating 152 valid patents and leading the compilation of numerous industry and corporate standards. A batch of scientific research achievements, represented by "Smart EPC" and key technologies for load-bearing components of pumped-storage units, have been successfully applied in actual project management, effectively enhancing the efficiency and quality of engineering construction and achieving a leap from technological accumulation to value creation. On September 12 and October 21, 2025, the No. 1 and No. 2 inclined shafts of the Qinghai Golmud Nanshankou Pumped Storage Power Station were successfully connected successively.
The China Three Gorges Corporation's 2026 work conference proposed accelerating the cultivation of new quality productive forces, strengthening empowerment across all scenarios, and speeding up the building of a "Digital and Intelligent Three Gorges." Currently, Three Gorges Development Company is accelerating its digital and intelligent transformation in line with the corporation's deployment.
"Our goal is to achieve 'business digitalization/intelligentization and digital/intelligent businessization,' enabling smart supervision, smart consulting, and smart inspection to function more effectively on the frontlines of major projects, helping us provide more forward-looking and reliable technical services and solutions," introduced Hu Wei, Deputy Chief Engineer of Three Gorges Development Company.
Technological innovation relies on the support of talent and the tempering of practice. In recent years, the company has treated project frontlines as the main battlefield for training teams and cultivating talent. Through measures like promoting the establishment of innovation studios, it has built platforms for combining innovative ideas with technical practice.
The Precision Measurement and Intelligent Mapping Innovation Studio is one such example. Based on systematically summarizing the surveying experience from the Three Gorges Project construction, the studio has successfully completed surveying and inspection work for multiple large hydropower stations, pumped-storage power stations, and Yangtze River conservation projects using technologies like drones, unmanned vessels, 3D laser scanners, and underground pipeline detection, yielding fruitful results. At the Qinghai Golmud Nanshankou Pumped Storage Power Station, the company's engineering inspection center team utilized a heavy-lift vertical take-off and landing drone system equipped with aerial survey cameras and long-range LiDAR equipment to conduct initial terrain data collection before project commencement.
"We are currently tackling research on intelligent close-range photogrammetry technology and equipment development. In the future, we will continue exploring areas like integrated aerial-ground 3D modeling and intelligent construction quality inspection, striving to develop more core technologies with independent intellectual property rights to better serve the needs of major project construction," said Kong Lingli, the lead of this studio.
This ecosystem that equally emphasizes technology and talent, and combines innovation with practice, is continuously uniting and forging highly skilled, resilient core teams. This reserves valuable, sustainable strategic resources for undertaking more arduous missions and exploring broader markets during the 16th Five-Year Plan period.
Standing at the new starting point of the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, Three Gorges Development Company faces historic opportunities presented by overlapping national major strategies and the vigorous development of China Three Gorges Corporation's industries. Although challenges remain ahead, the entire company is adopting a "starting at a sprint" attitude, striving to convert the "gold content" of opportunities into tangible "physical volume" of development.
"On the new journey, we will closely align with the China Three Gorges Corporation's 16th Five-Year Plan development strategy, continuously foster and solidify the engineering company characteristics of 'being rooted on-site to implement effectively, ensuring safety and punctuality through strong management, and building the brand with integrity and accountability,' and unswervingly follow a path of specialized, refined, and distinctive development," said Mao Sanjun.