Henan, a major industrial province with a key position in China's equipment manufacturing industry, has shown significant growth in the sector, particularly in tunnel boring machines, agricultural machinery, and power equipment, Vice-Governor Li Tao said on Wednesday at a conference in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital.

In the first 10 months of 2025, the value addition of Henan's equipment manufacturing sector rose 33.4 percent year-on-year, accounting for 13.1 percent of the total from major industrial enterprises and contributing 1.7 percentage points to the overall growth of the province's industries above designated size, Li said.

During the event, two major machines — the world's largest diameter double-shield TBM and the domestically produced shield machine with the largest diameter — were officially contracted. In addition, the ultra-large diameter slurry shield machine Zhengxianhao was officially taken offline.

The world's largest diameter double-shield TBM, with an excavation diameter of 13.01 meters, will be used in the Yuexi Tunnel project on the Jinkouhe-Xichang Expressway in Sichuan province. The tunnel has a total length of about 18.4 kilometers, with a TBM tunneling section of roughly 15.1 km. It is the first ultra-long tunnel project in China's expressway engineering field to adopt a large diameter double-shield TBM for main tunnel construction.

The domestically made largest diameter shield machine, with an excavation diameter of 16.68 meters, will be applied to the Hefei G4001 connecting line project under the Dongpu Reservoir in Anhui province. The tunnel is approximately 3.8 km long, with a 2.9-km shield tunnel section that uses a double-tube, double-deck design to pass under the reservoir.

Zhengxianhao, the ultra-large diameter slurry shield machine, will be applied to the East Lake section of the Wuhan Two Lakes Tunnel project, which is the longest urban lake tunnel in China and the largest in the world. With an excavation diameter of 15.09 meters and a total length of 115 meters, the machine can advance rapidly in composite strata and effectively avoid engineering risks under complex conditions.

Hosted by the China Railway High-tech Industry Co, the country's largest tunnel construction equipment manufacturer, and organized by its subsidiary, China Railway Engineering Equipment Group Co, the conference also saw the launch of a large industrial manufacturing model and the High-End Manufacturing Innovation Consortium.

The debut of the "Pioneer Industrial Manufacturing Large Model", designed as a core response to the national digital and intelligent strategy, aims to lead the industry's transformation toward high-end development.

The model is committed to developing comprehensive AI service capabilities and providing strong support for the intelligent transformation of the manufacturing sector.

Pu Xiangong, vice-president of the planning and design institute of CRHIC, said the model is highly efficient. "When applying similar solutions to a new production line, only minor adjustments are needed, which significantly cuts down on repetitive work," he said.

The High-End Manufacturing Innovation Consortium, a strategic initiative to integrate resources and address key technological challenges across the industrial chain, is expected to have a positive impact on Zhengzhou, especially in advanced manufacturing, Mayor Zhuang Jianqiu said.

The conference brought together nearly 200 participants, including government officials, industry experts, academics and enterprise representatives nationwide.

Qi Xin contributed to this story.