On January 23rd local time, under the scorching sun of Duqm, Oman, the "backbone" of a future steel giant was quietly erected. Following a clear and firm instruction from the chief commander on site, the engine of a giant crane rumbled deeply, and the steel cables gradually tightened. A huge silver-grey steel column, approximately 13 meters high and weighing 73 tons, smoothly lifted off its transport support amid great attention and rose slowly toward the blue sky. After precise aerial rotation and fine adjustment, like a giant "stabilizing pillar", it was finally fitted perfectly into the pre-cast concrete foundation.

This moment marked a decisive first milestone for the Phase I Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) installation project of the Oman JSD 5MTPA Integrated Steel Plant, undertaken by Shandong Province Metallurgical Engineering Co., Ltd. (SDM) — the successful hoisting of the first steel column of the core reaction tower. It also demonstrated that the cooperation and trust spanning borders and years have borne new fruitful results at this moment.

The site erupted in thunderous applause. Executives and on-site representatives from the investor, a South Asian group, technology suppliers Italy’s DANIELI Group and TENOVA Group, and independent third-party inspector France’s Bureau Veritas (BV) Group spoke highly of the operation and jointly cheered for this precise lifting. The Vice President of Projects of the South Asian group stated on site: “The perfect success of the first lift has exceeded our expectations. It is not only the completion of an engineering milestone, but also a vivid demonstration of the entire project team’s professionalism, spirit of collaboration and excellent management system. Our cooperation with SDM, our outstanding Chinese engineering partner, has a long-standing history. It is precisely based on the solid mutual trust formed in previous South Asian projects, with the core philosophy of ‘Putting Users First in Everything’, that we have chosen this team again. Today’s success has validated our choice and upheld our commitment to common development. We are full of confidence in the future of the project.”

Trust as the Foundation: A Time-Honored Epic of Cooperation and a New Chapter

This cooperation is no accident. Many years ago, SDM established a close partnership with a South Asian group. Through a series of technical renovation and upgrading projects, the two parties achieved leapfrog development in iron and steel production technology and products, creating remarkable economic benefits. The profound mutual trust built through joint efforts has laid a solid foundation for this renewed collaboration in the third-party market of Oman. After winning the bid, the senior management of SDM attached great importance to the project and regarded it as a bridgehead project to consolidate strategic partnerships and explore the high-end market in the Middle East. Within the shortest possible time, the company assembled a core team with experience in multiple large-scale overseas projects, forming an elite team with both international vision and practical expertise.

Excellence in Perfection: Hundreds of Days and Nights of Dedication Forged Precision to the Millimeter

Behind the success lies weeks of extremely rigorous and precise preparation. Since the project launch, the team has faced an unfamiliar environment, stringent international standards, and complex multi-party interfaces. "From the moment the contract was signed, we entered a 'wartime state,'" recalled the Project Manager. The pre-project preparation was truly a multi-front campaign: The technical team was deeply involved, conducting dozens of rounds of technical clarifications and solution optimization with the experts from DANIELI and TENOVA, and thoroughly studying tens of thousands of drawings. The procurement and logistics team raced against time, coordinating the global supply chain to ensure that nearly 1,000 tons of the first batch of components and equipment arrived on time across the sea. The on-site team stationed in advance, overcame high temperatures and dust, and completed all pre-conditions including temporary construction, surveying and setting-out.

The steel column hoisted this time is the first segment of the core load-bearing “skeleton” of the Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) reaction tower. It demands extremely high installation accuracy, with verticality deviation controlled within ±2 mm, far stricter than common industry standards. To ensure a foolproof hoisting operation, the team refined the plan to the utmost detail. “We broke down this hoisting into hundreds of inspection items and simulated all possible working conditions, including the impact of instantaneous gusts,” said the Construction Technical Leader, pointing to the voluminous calculation documents. From the center-of-gravity calculation of the 73-ton steel column to the reaction force of each outrigger of the 300-ton crane on the foundation, from the 48-hour load tests on all mechanisms of the 300-ton and 100-ton mobile cranes, to the flaw detection reports of each set of slings and riggings and the micro-adjustment of the bolt hole group deviations, hundreds of details were addressed one by one. All these efforts finally resulted in an optimal hoisting plan approved by all parties on the first submission. The technical expert team from DANIELI, Italy, participated in the entire plan review process, while the inspection engineers from France’s BV conducted independent side supervision and document verification on key steps, jointly establishing multiple layers of insurance covering technology, safety and quality.

Systematic Operations: Eight Modules Power the "International Joint Fleet"

In an unfamiliar environment 8,000 kilometers away from home, coordinating teams and standards from multiple countries is the ultimate test of project management systems. The project team of SDM has innovatively established a collaborative operation system of "Eight Professional Management Modules", turning the seemingly complex international project management into a clear and efficient process engine.

The Construction Technical Team acts as the brain, responsible for planning and tackling key challenges. The Planning Management Team serves as the metronome, rolling over and updating the schedule network on an hourly basis. The HSE Management Team is the omnipresent guardian, strictly enforcing the Owner’s work permit system and issuing more than 20 high-risk work permits daily. The Material Management Team functions as a super logistics center, ensuring that equipment and components shipped from ports in Italy, South Asia, China, as well as special tools from Chinese ports, converge just-in-time at the Duqm site across the oceans. All teams align information and implement the PDCA cycle through the daily 19:30 engineering coordination meeting, ensuring clear instructions, smooth interfaces and unified actions.

Safety as Culture: Building an Impenetrable Barrier for Zero Harm

Heavy lifting operations in high temperatures exceeding 40°C make safety the overriding bottom line. The Project HSE Manager starts each morning by leading all teams in a pre-shift safety meeting, conducting risk scenario simulations tailored to the day’s tasks. “We require every worker not only to know what to do, but also to understand why,” he emphasized. “They must understand why this shackle must be inspected three times, and why continuous work in high temperatures cannot exceed the specified duration.” Clear warning zones, operation areas and safety access routes are marked on site, with multilingual safety signs visible everywhere. The project is equipped with ample heatstroke prevention and cooling supplies. More innovatively, mobile air-conditioned safety booths have been installed at critical positions such as the hoisting command post. The audit report by France’s BV specially noted: “The proactive safety early warning system and full-participation safety culture established by this project have reached world-class international standards.”

Diversity & Integration: Painting a Meticulous "Belt and Road" Masterpiece in the Desert

The smooth progress of the project is also a movement of international cooperation and cross-cultural integration. Chinese management staff have gradually developed an efficient communication approach. The daily "9:30 on-site stand-up meeting" has become an important platform for solving on-site cross-operation problems and enhancing mutual understanding. The project team’s full respect for and proactive adaptation to local laws, regulations and religious customs have created a harmonious external environment for project implementation.

"This project is like a bridge," the Project Manager remarked with emotion. "It connects China's mature engineering capabilities, advanced technologies from Europe, and the vibrant industrial development needs of the Middle East. What we deliver is not just a factory, but a proven and replicable model for international cooperation."

Team Spirit: The "Steel Caravan" in the Desert and the Light of Dedication

The soul of a project lies in its people. In this remote desert, the project team has coalesced into a highly combat-effective "Steel Caravan". Team spirit shines through in every detail of daily work: To make up for delays caused by the owner’s shipping schedule, the installation team proactively refined the work plan to the hour, taking shifts to ensure that steel components were unpacked and inspected within 24 hours of arriving on site. To overcome technical challenges, Chinese and foreign engineers often debated late into the night, then smiled at each other once a consensus was reached. Faced with daily high temperatures above 40°C, the HSE team innovated working systems and provided comprehensive logistical support, while workers wrapped wet towels around their necks to stay at their posts, their work uniforms soaked through with sweat time and again.

"Our goal is simple: to erect a milestone here, bring honor to our country, and win glory for our company." The simple words of a senior technician speak for all builders. This dedication to hard work and perseverance, combined with a scientific, rigorous professional attitude, has forged the unique character of the project team and earned the sincere respect of international partners.

Reaching the Technological Pinnacle & Future Blueprint: Setting a New Benchmark for Green Steel

The “Zero Reformer Energiron” technology adopted in the Oman JSD Project represents the cutting-edge direction of global direct reduction iron processes. The technical representative of TENOVA Group emphasized: “The revolutionary nature of this technology lies in its unique reactor design, which completely eliminates the energy-intensive reformer used in traditional processes. This means approximately 20% less natural gas consumption per ton of hot metal produced, with a proportional reduction in CO₂ emissions. This technology is not only an efficient production tool, but also a declaration for green steel.” Upon completion, the high-quality Direct Reduction Iron (DRI) produced will be directly hot-charged into high-power electric arc furnaces, achieving a short-process, low-carbon production route from ore to high-end steel products. The products will mainly serve manufacturing sectors with stringent quality requirements, such as automotive and home appliances. The project will become a model for the large-scale application of this advanced technology in the Middle East. Its low-carbon, low-consumption and high-quality products will strongly boost the upgrading of the regional manufacturing industry.

The successful first hoisting is like pressing a key fast-forward button, injecting strong momentum and confidence into the entire project. It signifies that there are no longer any technical obstacles to the full-scale launch of the project’s main installation works, laying a solid foundation for the intensive steel structure installation and the positioning of numerous core equipment to follow. This marks the most solid step forward toward the goal of putting the project into production on schedule.

From the bidding stage of the project, the company selected its elite personnel to form a project team proficient in international standards and skilled in multilateral negotiations. They have successfully integrated the efficiency advantages of China's engineering management with U.S. and European technical standards as well as Middle East localization requirements, earning the respect of partners.

Looking ahead, this rising steel plant carries profound and far-reaching significance: For the owner, it is a key strategic move in its globalization strategy and green transformation. For Oman, it serves as an important pillar for industrial diversification. For SDM and even China’s metallurgical construction industry, it represents a peak demonstration of capability and brand, as well as a strategic opportunity to deeply integrate into the world’s cutting-edge metallurgical technology ecosystem. The project team will take this as a new starting point, continue to uphold craftsmanship to ensure safety and quality, and enhance efficiency through collaboration, so as to deliver the project as a benchmark and model project in the Middle East and even across the globe.

The project management team of SDM stated that they will continue to take this success as a new starting point. Adhering to the craftsmanship spirit of striving for excellence and eternal reverence for safety, they will orderly promote the subsequent installation of hundreds of structural components, fastening of millions of bolts, and welding of tens of thousands of meters of pipelines, so as to ensure that this steel monument symbolizing green development and high efficiency will stand on the shore of the Persian Gulf as scheduled.

This new steel city standing on the shore of the Persian Gulf is bound to become a new testament to the friendship and cooperation between China and Oman, and a shining pearl of production capacity integration, technology sharing, and win‑win results under the Belt and Road Initiative. With the high morale drawn from the successful first hoisting, the project team is now devoting itself to the next phase of construction, vowing to write a new chapter in international cooperation and green industrial development, and to provide a vivid "Chinese solution" and practical model for the low‑carbon transformation of the global steel industry.