From May 12th to 14th, the 2025 World Tunnel Congress (WTC2025) and Exhibition grandly opened at the Stockholm Convention Center in Sweden, a city often called the "Venice of the North." This year's congress was jointly organized by the Swedish Rock Engineering Association (Svenska Bergteknikforeningen) and the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES). The Design Institute made a remarkable appearance at this prestigious event, showcasing nearly 53 exemplary engineering projects along with 45 technical services and technological products. 

　　This marks the Design Institute's second time participating as an exhibitor at the World Tunnel Congress, following its debut at the 2024 congress held in Shenzhen. Notably, this also represents the Design Institute's first-ever exhibition appearance on the European continent.

　　As the world's most influential and authoritative conference in the tunnel and underground engineering industry, this year's event centered on three key themes: "Innovative Mining Materials and Technologies," "Innovative Underground Storage," and "Innovative Underground Infrastructure." It brought together over 1,400 industry representatives from around the globe.

　　Nearly 30 specialized technical sessions were organized, focusing on topics such as "Environmental Impact," "Technological Innovation and Development," and "Tunnel Construction Risk Management," featuring close to 190 academic presentations. The themes closely followed industry frontiers, covering areas like digital transformation, green environmental protection, intelligent construction, equipment innovation, and risk management. Numerous global experts, scholars, and industry elites gathered to discuss the future development of tunnels and underground space.　 

　　The exhibition was led by Zhang Yibing, Deputy General Manager of the group company. The team included Shi Hai'ou, a top-level expert of the group; Wang Yangming, Chief Professional Engineer (Civil Air Defense) of the institute; Zheng Xiang, Head of the Overseas Business Department; Xu Wentian, Deputy Chief Professional Engineer (Structural) of the institute; and Lin Haoyang from the Overseas Business Department. This marked the team's first exhibition appearance on the European continent. The showcased premium engineering projects, technical services, and technological innovations covered areas such as digitalization, energy conservation, environmental protection, and tunnel protection. The design institute also presented its strategic layout and project achievements overseas, offering a comprehensive display of its cutting-edge technologies and developments in the international market in recent years, which attracted significant attention from numerous industry experts and professionals.　　 

　　During the event, the exhibition team engaged in extensive exchanges with many domestic and international industry peers. Over 200 overseas teams participated, representing 24 countries and regions, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Serbia, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Qatar, Israel, Brazil, India, the Philippines, Turkey, Poland, and Bulgaria.

　　Professor Arnold Dix, President of the International Tunnelling Association, paid a special visit to the exhibition booth. After hearing the introductions from the group company and the design institute regarding their overseas expansion and technological achievements, he spoke highly of Guangzhou Metro, recognizing it as an internationally renowned metro company with integrated full life-cycle capabilities in design, construction, and operation, possessing the ability to consolidate industry resources. He remarked that Guangzhou Metro is an outstanding representative in the global metro industry and expressed his hope that Guangzhou Metro and the Metro Design Institute will strengthen international cooperation with the International Tunnelling Association in the future. 

　　At the invitation of China Railway Tunnel Group, the exhibition team visited their Stockholm Blue Line Extension tunnel project in Sweden, as well as the Stockholm Metro project, renowned as a model of "the perfect integration of engineering and art." During the professional exchanges, Zhang Yibing expressed that Guangzhou Metro and China Railway Tunnel Group have broad prospects and limitless potential for cooperation in the European region, and he hopes to leverage their respective strengths to enhance collaboration.

　　Regarding the Design Institute, Zhang Yibing stressed the need to fully leverage its advantages and strengths in the rail transit sector. He emphasized capitalizing on the high level of attention gained from this exhibition to maintain the momentum, and to actively explore the European market in collaboration with central enterprises such as China Railway Tunnel Group (CRTG), aiming to achieve new successes following the Belgrade project.

　　The Group Company and the Design Institute made a successful debut at this World Tunnel Congress, showcasing not only their extensive scientific research achievements and advanced technologies but also demonstrating Guangzhou Metro's strategic determination for its integrated "going global" strategy. This has further enhanced their international market visibility, paving the way for expansion into European and global markets. Moving forward, the Design Institute will continue to focus on overseas markets, actively expand international business, and strengthen cooperation with central state-owned enterprises, other Chinese state-owned enterprises, and local overseas companies, fully implementing the Group's integrated "going global" strategic directive.