PORA and China’s Leading State Laboratory Launch Platform for Experience Exchange in Permafrost Construction

PORA’s Expert Center and China’s State Key Laboratory of Durability and Safety of Road Infrastructure in Special Conditions have signed a cooperation agreement in the field of permafrost construction. The parties have agreed to develop expert dialogue, exchange experience, and promote research into advanced scientific developments to protect transport infrastructure under conditions of thawing permafrost.

Thawing permafrost today poses a direct threat to roads, bridges, and engineering structures both in the Russian Arctic and in the high-altitude regions of China.

The Chinese side has accumulated enormous practical experience in implementing extremely complex infrastructure projects on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. It is there that the world’s highest-altitude and longest highway built under permafrost conditions is located. Chinese specialists possess a unique database on soil behavior and roadbed deformation under extreme temperature loads.

It is expected that the joint work of PORA’s industry partners and Chinese scientists will make it possible to study Chinese technologies and their experience in rapid emergency response, initiate new research projects on the impact of permafrost thaw on industrial facilities, develop modern strength standards for northern and Arctic routes taking climate change into account, and reduce costs for annual infrastructure maintenance.

The Chinese laboratory was established by a consortium led by CCCC First Highway Consultants, Changsha University of Science and Technology, and Shenzhen University. In March 2023, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology approved it as the country’s first state key comprehensive laboratory in the field of road construction.

The bilateral agreement was signed following business meetings organized by PORA’s Expert Center together with Chinese partners in Qingdao and Shanghai in May 2026, during which the parties discussed common challenges in construction under challenging climatic conditions and outlined a plan for practical cooperation.