On April 10-12, the kick-off meeting and academic seminar of the project “China-Ghana Harbor Conservation and Development Joint Laboratory CG-HCode”, which was undertaken by Prof. Zheng Jinhai, a member of the team, was held in our university. This project (No. 2023YFE0126300) is led by Hohai University, in cooperation with University of Cape Coast of Ghana, Tianjin Institute of Water Transportation Engineering Science, and West Africa Center of China Harbor (Cote d’Ivoire) Engineering Co. Under the general idea of “joint construction – technological innovation – talent cultivation”, the China-Ghana Joint Laboratory for Harbor Protection and Development aims to promote China-Ghana scientific and technological cooperation and humanistic exchanges, and to provide technological support and talent guarantee for the construction of harbors and navigation and protection of harbors and gulfs in China and Africa.
On behalf of the organizer, Prof. Chen Da, Vice President of Hohai University, delivered a speech and expressed his warm welcome to the leaders and experts attending the meeting. He said that the project team led by Prof. Zheng Jinhai has strong scientific research strength and international exchange experience, and he believes that the project team can accomplish the set objectives with high quality. Hohai University, as the project leader, will actively provide effective support and guarantee for all relevant synergistic units to create favorable conditions for the joint laboratory to successfully complete the project objectives. Participating experts listened to the project report of Prof. Zheng Jinhai, Director of the Joint Laboratory, and put forward valuable opinions and suggestions on the construction program of the Joint Laboratory, technology research and application, and implementation of indicators.
During the meeting, the Joint Laboratory organized the “Academic Seminar on Protection and Development of Harbors and Bays in West Coast of Africa”, which was attended by Prof. Zheng Jinhai and Prof. Zhang Jisheng of Hohai University, Prof. Chen Hanbao of Tianjin Institute of Water Transportation Science, Prof. Wang Kehua, Chief Engineer of Hydrography of the CCCC Fourth Navigation Engineering Survey and Design Institute, Senior Engineer Yang Jiayan of China Harbor Engineering Co. Ltd, Senior Engineer Yang Jiayan, Prof. Guo Yakun from University of Bradford, UK, and more than 80 scholars from home and abroad, including Prof. Denis Aheto, Prof. Precious Mattah, and Senior Researcher Richard Asumadu from University of Cape Coast, Ghana, attended the seminar. The participating experts and scholars carried out lively discussions and in-depth academic exchanges on the coastal engineering facilities of West African coastal ports, hydrodynamic spatial and temporal distribution characteristics, sediment transport and coastline evolution, and innovative environmentally friendly offshore construction technologies.