Tailored power engineering logistics solutions

For ordinary users or companies, the measurement unit of logistics transportation is as small as a cardboard box, as large as a container, and there are standardized processes that can be referenced in all aspects of transportation, distribution, packaging, loading and unloading. But what if we need to put 103 adult elephants weighing 5 tons each together and transport 28000 kilometers across borders to underdeveloped developing countries? Once the goods are too long, too high, or overweight, transportation issues will become extremely complex - in front of 'unconventional' goods, ordinary cranes and trucks often have no use, how to load and unload? How to transport? Can you imagine building bridges and roads to transport goods? This is the 'engineering logistics' that only high-level players in the logistics industry dare to touch.

The 1500MW Gas Combined Cycle Independent Power Plant Project (hereinafter referred to as the 'Syr River Project') in Uzbekistan, officially signed and commenced in January 2021, is the first foreign-funded IPP (Independent Power Plant) project in Uzbekistan and the first gas combined cycle power plant project signed by a Chinese enterprise in Uzbekistan.

The project plans to adopt the H-class gas turbine with the highest combustion temperature, single power and efficiency in the world at present and the design scheme of 'zero waste water discharge'. It will build a world leading green energy-saving and environmental protection power station that will benefit millions of people, and it will also be built into a model project of the 'the Belt and Road'.

As an international third-party logistics service provider based in Asia and with strong global network coverage, Kerry Logistics officially signed the main equipment section of the Xi'er River project in August 2021, responsible for the door-to-door transportation of two gas turbines (including waste heat boilers), one steam turbine, and three starting transformers for the project. This project is Kerry Logistics' another breakthrough in the field of power engineering logistics, It is also a significant breakthrough in the field of large-scale engineering logistics business in the Central Asian market in China.

01

Taking advantage of the the Belt and Road, engineering logistics is sailing

It is reported that by the end of July 2022, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with 149 countries and 32 international organizations to jointly build the 'the Belt and Road', and a number of major cooperation projects and livelihood projects are advancing in an orderly manner. The Silk Road was the most developed international logistics road in ancient times. With the seamless connection between the 'the Belt and Road' and the trade channels of countries along the route, it has greatly promoted the development of modern cross-border logistics, and exchanges and cooperation in infrastructure, energy, transportation and other large infrastructure fields, creating new opportunities and challenges for engineering logistics.

The literal meaning of 'engineering logistics' is a logistics activity with engineering characteristics, the most common of which is the transportation of various construction projects. In addition, things like factory relocation, introduction of large production lines, logistics transportation of large conferences and exhibitions... all belong to engineering logistics. The Xi'er River project belongs to the power engineering project, which has the characteristics of complex supply chain, short project construction cycle, and high difficulty in transporting major equipment compared to other types of engineering projects. It puts forward extremely high requirements for logistics companies to control market capacity and reserve major transportation technology.

It is understood that in terms of the types of logistics transportation projects, the Wuxi River Project of the same scale in Uzbekistan in the past five years is also one of the projects with the greatest difficulty in the transportation of single goods in Uzbekistan in the past 10 years, involving countries of departure including China, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, India, the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, Germany, Italy, Hungary, and the United States, with a total transportation batch of more than 300, and a time span of 2 years, The total cargo volume exceeds 100000 billing tons.

At present, all major equipment components of the project have been shipped from the country of origin.

02

Tailored power engineering logistics solutions

Tailored 'is a significant feature of engineering logistics solutions, limited by different types of subject matter, transportation routes, and complex and ever-changing transportation environments. No matter how good the solution is, it is' one-time '. Taking the Xier River project as an example, since 2021, it has coincided with the global epidemic raging and regional tensions. However, this project involves a large number of shipping locations, large cargo volumes, short required cycles, and large equipment volumes and weights. In addition, the local infrastructure such as roads and bridges is outdated, and the scarcity of special equipment has also brought many challenges to the planning of solutions.

What urgently needs to be addressed in this plan is the insufficient load capacity of roads and bridges in the area of access. The most significant item in the project and also the key cargo with the greatest impact on the project, the gas turbine body, weighs 517 tons, is 14 meters long, 6.3 meters wide, and 5.6 meters high. It needs to be transported inland in Central Asia for over 2200 kilometers. Small size and heavy weight mean extremely high requirements for the carrying capacity of roads and bridges. However, most of the road and bridge construction in Ukraine began during the former Soviet Union period and was in disrepair for a long time.

To solve this problem, Kerry Logistics dispatched project team members to survey key bridges, roads, and obstacles along the transportation route as soon as the project was officially launched, and formulated a plan to repair and reinforce 23 bridges. At the same time, 4 new bridges were built and more than 30 kilometers of roads were repaired. In addition, temporary demolition of over 35 natural gas pipelines, hot water pipelines, road signs, and medium and low voltage transmission lines was also required. And this is only the beginning of engineering logistics transportation, and various unexpected situations need to be dealt with at any time during the project process.

During the transportation work of the second section of the main equipment in the Xi'er River project, unexpected situations such as insurance refusal and tight transportation capacity supply also occurred. Kerry Logistics actively coordinates with all parties to urgently carry out due diligence on alternative routes, while also coordinating with shipping companies to change ship ownership to meet transportation permit requirements. Finally, an agreement was reached with all relevant parties to extend the entire transportation distance to 28000 kilometers, reaching 70% of the maximum diameter of the Earth, and successfully start the second stage of transportation work for the main equipment. For members of the Kerry Logistics Xier River project team, the difficulty of project execution is escalating every day!

03

A Great Exam on the Ability of 'Advanced Players' in the Logistics Industry

If the difficulty level of logistics transportation is classified, then engineering logistics is undoubtedly the arena for high-level players, and cross-border engineering logistics is the 'hell mode' among them. Due to the involvement of multiple countries, ports, and companies, different legal regulations, communication languages, industry standards, etc. bring great difficulties to transportation work. Each engineering logistics transportation not only needs to test the 'hard power' of the enterprise's major transportation technology and capabilities, but also a comprehensive test of its global resources, talent reserves, personnel allocation and other 'soft power'.

As the transportation route of the Syr River project involves multi-national maritime, railway and road transportation, Kerry Logistics relies on the Group's global network capabilities to establish a project team, which is coordinated by the project manager with more than 10 years of project management experience in the Russian speaking area, and integrates the professional freight forwarding employees of Kerry Logistics China, Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Singapore, Thailand, Italy, Germany and other branches, Deploy experienced lifting, loading, and binding engineers, as well as major transportation engineers, to jointly build a global service team and effectively improve project transportation efficiency.

What about the scarcity of local special equipment? In order to successfully complete transportation, Kerry Logistics deploys special axis vehicles, self-propelled modular transport vehicles, gantry cranes, heavy-duty crawler cranes, bridge transportation systems, etc. globally according to project requirements. In order to ensure transportation safety, it is only a loading and binding work, and it is necessary to accurately determine the loading position, binding material, and binding angle of the equipment to multiple decimal places. In order to ensure the timely arrival of goods, Kerry Logistics, as the vice chairman of the China Customs Brokers Association, with the support of the leaders of the Association, has carried out work reporting with Urumqi Customs and Khorgos Customs, and completed the exit procedures as soon as the goods arrived at the port, reducing the exit time to the minimum. The successful transportation of each batch of heavy and large equipment in the Xi'er River project is an important manifestation of Kerry Logistics' global comprehensive strength.

04

Global comprehensive strength provides protection for cross-border transportation of giants

The strong global logistics network strength of Kerry Logistics provides strong guarantees for the smooth implementation of the Xi'er River project. Kerry Logistics' subsidiaries, Kerry Chase, Kerry Globalink (Central Asia), Kerry Group PCL, and SF Group Multimodal Transport, have jointly provided customized engineering logistics services for this project. Among them, Kerry Logistics Globalink (Central Asia), as the top freight forwarding company in the Russian speaking region in terms of comprehensive logistics, has over 20 years of business experience and rich local execution experience, providing comprehensive support for project implementation.

In recent years, with the promotion of the 'the Belt and Road' construction, Kerry Logistics has continuously accumulated rich experience in the field of engineering logistics. In addition to the Syr River project, it has also provided customized engineering logistics transportation services for Beijing Kaisheng Uzbek Akangalan Factory, TBEA Nigeria Abuja Power Transmission and Transformation Project, etc.

As more Chinese manufacturing and construction enterprises 'go global', it is imperative to build a global engineering logistics network system that connects China to the world. In the future, Kerry Logistics will continue to increase its investment in the field of engineering logistics, leverage its strong global network resource capabilities, continuously integrate advantageous resources, actively explore emerging markets both domestically and internationally, and use its rich experience in engineering logistics project operation and management to build a bridge for cooperation and exchange among countries and enterprises.