Chief engineer hails 'compelling success'

Career highlight

The 56-year-old engineer sees the bridge as the highlight of his career, and has devoted more than a decade to the once-in-a-lifetime project: "After years of work, I would say the bridge is a compelling success for the people of China and the world."

Su has worked on bridge projects for almost 30 years. "I have close bonds of affection with bridges - quality is the most important element. It's as important as my life," he said.

"If I failed to build something well enough, my efforts would be worthless."

In the 1990s, Su was responsible for quality inspections of bridges in Guangdong province. Back then, he saw many poor-quality projects, and that made him anxious about the future of bridge engineering in China.

"The country had a very limited budget due to its developing economy. At the same time, solid infrastructure was needed in a hurry," he said.

As a result, a whole generation of construction workers had to complete a large number of bridges at top speed, despite a lack of top-class equipment or quality materials. Instead, they relied on knowledge and perspiration.

Su recalled the time an expert from Hong Kong compared different parts of the Shenzhen Bay Bridge - half built by workers from the Chinese mainland and half by workers from Hong Kong - slide by slide, showing the rougher edges of the section built by the mainlanders.

Moreover, international criticism of the poor quality of some of China's infrastructure made him determined to make each project he worked on a world-class venture.

"We went back to the basics; you can never joke when lives are at stake," he said.