Tiankun, a Chinese-made dredging vessel and the largest of its kind in Asia, will reach out to the world for broader application, said Kang Xuezeng, president of a dredging company under China Communication Construction Company.

The dredging company has grown into the largest in the world.

Though the dredging industry is not something on most people’s minds, it is closely related with the national economy and the daily life of every citizen.

Hong Kong is the only natural deepwater port among China’s 1,400 ports. If it was not for the dredging industry, a total of 90% of China’s shipping lanes with overseas countries would be blocked.

The industry has also made remarkable contributions in island-making in recent years. With the help of the industry, the famous tourist attraction West Lake in eastern China’s Zhejiang province has completed comprehensive water treatment.

In the late 1990s, China was significantly dependent on foreign dredging technologies, Kang said, saying it is unbelievable that the country can now make world-leading dredging vessels itself.

According to him, overseas engineering projects will be the major focus of Chinese dredgers. Only machines like Tiankun are able to finish port-construction tasks in places like Africa with extremely hard rock formations.