Other Innovation Technology

Hailong Model MiC series

During the Reporting Period, the Group released the “Hailong Model” MiC series building products. The series is divided into three categories: E series — Hailong elevator MiC high-rise module; S series — Hailong steel structure MiC high-rise module; and C series — Hailong concrete structure MiC highrise module. Unlike domestic modular buildings that are mostly low-rise buildings no higher than 7 floors, these three products can be used for high-rise permanent buildings up to hundreds of meters high and have sufficient wind and earthquake resistance, representing the advanced level of modular construction technology in the world. Currently, the three products and technologies have been successfully applied in projects. For example, the Group successfully won the bid for the Shandong Yantai high-rise MiC hotel project, which will become the tallest modular building in the country after completion; The Guangdong Shenzhen Longhua Zhangkengjing block project is the first high-rise concrete MiC project in mainland China; and the Shenzhen Middle School (Nigang Campus) project, which uses the new MiC elevator product, has been selected as a pilot project for new building industrialization by Shenzhen leaders. In addition, the Group has successfully developed MiC sewage treatment equipment, helping the Group to develop environmental protection business.

Adopting modular integrated construction (MiC)

The Group has been developing prefabricated construction technology for over 20 years and is one of the leaders in the industry. In this year, it has diligently applied MiC to embrace the revolutionary future of the construction industry.

In recent years, the construction industry in Hong Kong has faced many challenges, including high construction costs, labour shortages, an ageing workforce, and increasing demands for quality, safety and environmental protection. The adoption of MiC technology can alleviate these difficulties by shifting most of the workflow from the construction site to the factory, with the following steps.

There are many advantages of MiC technology compared to tradition construction. This includes:

Because of the multiple advantages mentioned above, the Group believes that MiC technology is a major trend in the future construction industry and will drive the Group’s sustainability in terms of business operation, project quality, construction safety, environmental protection and carbon reduction. The Group’s subsidiary, China State Hailong Construction Technology Company Limited (“CS Hailong”), has six production bases for prefabricated buildings in Mainland China. The modules produced by the production base in Zhuhai have helped complete several epidemic prevention projects in Hong Kong within a very short construction period, among which the Temporary Quarantine Facilities at Lei Yue Mun was the first project in Hong Kong to use MiC.

In 2021, the Group successfully promoted the use of the MiC technology to a wide range of scenarios. Apart from quarantine facilities and the hospital of the negative pressure wards, it has also been applied to other of building types, such as hotels, apartments, offices, schools and exhibition halls. MiC housing is a global trend and is one of the fastest growing markets in the construction industry.

In the regional markets, both the Hong Kong and Shenzhen governments actively support it. The HKSAR government has stipulated that public buildings with a gross floor area of more than 300 square meters must adopt the MiC. Private developers using MiC construction are also granted gloss floor area (GFA) concessions. Shenzhen also sees MiC as an important channel for industrialisation and low carbon transformation of construction industry. The Group will continue to build China State Hailong Construction Technology Company Limited (“China State Hailong”) a leader in technological R&D, and cooperate with the government to nurture relevant industrial chains.

The Group has been sparing no efforts to promote MiC technology. It has participated in video sharing meetings organised by the Architectural Services Department, seminars on transitional housing organised by the Transport and Housing Bureau, and consultation sessions organised by the Construction Industry Training Authority. In addition, a number of site visits have been arranged by the Group for industry professionals. From the delivery of relatively simple quarantine facilities to negative pressure wards in the hospital, the Group has successfully mastered the most advanced MiC technology and laid a solid foundation for its future business development.

Looking ahead, it is expected that MiC technology will help alleviate the tight supply and high cost of housing in Hong Kong. The Group will continue to promote the application of MiC and enhance the performance of sustainability. It is willing to work with all parties to fight the epidemic, build a better society and create a better life together.

The Radio Frequency Identification (“RFID”) Technology

Due to the difficulty of identifying prefabricated components and MiC building components by appearance alone, it is necessary to adopt technological solutions to record component information and coordinate the work of different personnel in different geographic areas and times. RFID technology does not require direct contact or imaging, and can penetrate the coverings and the components themselves. It is easy to read and durable, making it suitable for component identification. The technology can be applied to the whole life cycle of component, from production, inspection, shipment, transportation to installation and consequently improve the management efficiency, making it an important technology for construction industrialisation.

Building Information Modeling (BIM)

At the “Celebration of BIM Achievement 2020” held by the Construction Industry Council, CSHK’s Related Case 4 APM and BHS Tunnel on Existing Airport Island, Tseung Kwan O Desalination Plant Stage I, and Relocation of Sha Tin Sewage Treatment Works to Caverns were recognised as “BIM Projects 2020”. The Group’s innovative contribution and achievements in the adoption of building information modelling were recognised by the industry when it took up three out of the ten BIM Projects.

In addition, CSC Macao won the tender for the Construction of the Main Structures of the Cotai Healthcare Complex (the “Cotai Hospital”). With the decision of adopting high technology such as BIM to overcome the difficulties of the project, deepen the design and guide the construction, CSC Macao quickly set up a professional team to establish and integrate relevant architectural, structural and electromechanical models. Through 3D modelling, all parties involved in the project can have a more intuitive and profound understanding of the design intent and construction difficulties, and detect design problems and collision conflicts at an early stage, thus improving the quality of the project. BIM enables multi-disciplinary online collaborative design and operation, reducing file transfer and improving design efficiency. It can also simulate the construction schedule and approach to help arrange and optimise the construction plan. By breaking through paperbased technical briefings, BIM improves communication and construction management efficiency with 3D visualisation. The effective application of BIM technology in the Cotai Hospital has been recognised by the industry and received the Grand Award (Offshore Category) at the Hong Kong Institute of Building Information Modelling Award 2020.

    • Macao Cotai Hospital BIM Model

  • The Assembly Prefabricated Construction Research Centre has a professional team across the whole industry chains, including design, manufacturing, construction, materials, and so on. Its main topics are the MiC system of concrete and steel structure, prefabricated construction, new building materials. This centre focuses on key technologies in the whole process of prefabricated construction.
  • The Building Information Model Research Centre studies the complete process of integrating application of BIM Technology, and explore new scenarios where BIM+ is applicable. The centre is devoted to technical training, standard development, and building component libraries. It integrates information on building materials, installation progress, and cost management into the practical application of BIM technology through developing plug-ins, using computer software, and combining AR and scanning technologies.
  • Intelligent Construction Research Centre incorporates 5G, VR, AI, IoT, robotics, block chain and other technologies to independently develop the C-Smart intelligent site series of products. This centre is committed to build an integrated digital construction platform that aims at real-time and comprehensive engineering management. The Group owns independent intellectual property right of C-Smart.
  • Medical Construction Research Centre, with a professional team of medical planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, is dedicated to the construction technology research of modern hospitals that meet international standards and the modular hospital. This centre supports the medical construction projects and accumulates medical related construction technologies.
  • The Hotel Construction Research Centre focuses on the key technology of large modern hotels that meet international standards. It summarises previous hotel projects, enhances project management and coordination capabilities, and innovates key construction technologies so as to upgrade the level of hotel construction then enhance market competitiveness.
  • Infrastructure Engineering Technology Research Centre consists of 4 sub centres, for road and bridge engineering technology, infrastructure investment model innovation, safety technology and new green construction technology. This centre studies core construction technologies such as the control of subgrade settlement and deformation, tunnel engineering in complex geological environment, undersea immersed tunnel engineering, highway construction and maintenance, and large-scale environmental protection facilities construction.
  • Intelligent Curtain Wall Research Centre conducts R&D of complex curtain wall standardized design, intelligent production, and efficient installation of complete sets of technology. It upgrades the existing products and applies new technologies to enhance the technological level of curtain walls production and construction through combining the market demand and emerging materials.
  • Low-Carbon R&D Centre echoing the national development strategy and promote the development of green and low-carbon technologies to support business expansion. The new R&D centre will focus on innovative initiatives in low carbon technology, develop green low-carbon regional planning and design, corporate carbon accounting method, "dual-carbon" ecosphere and low-carbon industrial technologies, and so on. It also assists the Group in formulating a comprehensive low-carbon action plan and specific measures in technology, standards, capabilities, marketing, and so on. Besides, it explores cooperation with research institutes, universities, and social associations in Mainland China to serve as a think tank for green and low-carbon development and an important platform to help the Group to transform and upgrade.

To promote the exchange of industry and academia for green construction, the Group and Harbin Institute of Technology (Shenzhen) jointly established the “Harbin Institute of Technology-3311MiC Cooperation Research and Development Centre”, which focuses on the core technology of MiC. The Group has also collaborated with iFlytek to explore core technologies such as Artificial Intelligence technology management for international hospitals and modular schools, taking advantage of iFlytek’s technical expertise in AI smart hospitals and AI smart education. Furthermore, the Group is promoting cooperation with the Environmental Flame Retardant Material Application Engineering Technology Centre of the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) to jointly research and promote high performance environmentally friendly flame retardant materials to reduce application costs.

Moreover, CSCI’S Low-carbon Research and Development Center and Rapid Construction Research Institute held an unveiling ceremony this year, research on low-carbon and construction technologies are conducted. As a think tank for green transformation of the construction industry, CSCI intends to collaborate with mainland China’s scientific research institute, universities, and social associations.