Rendering of the Dunhuang City Mingzhu Square design project. In the successful conclusion of the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Gansu Provincial Engineering Research Institute has delivered a substantial report card on high-quality development. Looking inward, reforms have invigorated vitality. The action to deepen and enhance the reform of state-owned enterprises concluded successfully, with the operating cash ratio maintained at around 4%. The average annual growth rates for contract value, operating revenue, and total profit were around 10%, and the overall labor productivity reached an industry-leading benchmark of 361,500 yuan per person. Looking outward, strategic transformation has expanded the space. The operational reach has "expanded externally and moved downward," achieving a historic breakthrough in expanding into markets outside the province. The proportion of contract value from outside the province has steadily increased to 10.12%, with branches established in the three major economic zones within the province. The proportion of contracts from newly cultivated businesses has stabilized above 60%, significantly enhancing development resilience. Looking toward innovation and quality, a complete closed loop has been formed integrating industry, technology, and talent. The R&D intensity has remained above 4%, with master studios, a Green Building Center, a Science and Innovation Center, and an Engineering Technology Research Center established successively, making innovation-driven development a distinctive hallmark.
These five years have been a period of industry differentiation and also a period of metamorphosis for this enterprise. Leveraging its profound technical consulting heritage and a clear logic of "seeking space from the market, seeking momentum from transformation, and seeking efficiency from management," the Institute has not only achieved growth in operational performance but has also forged a distinctive new path of transformation in the deep waters of reform.
Reform and seeking change have broken down institutional barriers and activated a pool of stagnant water. Reform has been the most distinctive feature of these five years. The modernization of the governance system has constructed the "four beams and eight pillars" (core framework). The company's articles of association and various rules of procedure were comprehensively revised, clearly defining the authority and responsibility boundaries of various governance bodies, including the Party Committee, the Board of Directors, and the management. The leadership role of the Party Committee was institutionally embedded into the entire company decision-making process through documents like the "Rules of Procedure for Party Committee Meetings" and the "List of Major Decisions, Important Personnel Appointments, Major Projects, and Large-Sum Fund Usage." The advantages of the modern enterprise system, with the Board responsible for strategic decisions and management for operations, were fully leveraged. In 2025, the Provincial Engineering Research Institute successfully completed the action to deepen and enhance the reform of state-owned enterprises, solidifying a modern SOE governance system characterized by legally defined, transparent, coordinated, and effectively balanced responsibilities and powers.
A market-oriented operating mechanism has stimulated the vitality of micro-entities. The blade of reform turned inward, directly targeting the "three systems" (labor, personnel, and distribution). The Institute fully implemented term-based and contractual management for members of the managerial layer, achieving a 100% signing rate and rigidly enforcing the principle of "salary increases with performance improvement, salary decreases with performance decline." The talent strategy evolved from "support and guarantee" to "strategic leadership." Centered on the reform of the three systems, the Institute issued its first "Cadre and Talent Team Building Plan (2024-2028)," deploying five major actions, including "Strengthening the Foundation and Increasing Efficiency, Improving Quality and Strengthening the Body." An innovative "introduction-cultivation-utilization-incentive" closed-loop system was built, featuring "case-by-case" precision talent recruitment, cumulatively attracting 109 experienced professionals. Differentiated cultivation mechanisms were implemented, such as the "dual-mentor system" and the "135" career progression path for young employees, the "361" integration plan for mature talent, and the "361" transition goals for internal transfers, along with the formation of mentor groups for new employees. "One-enterprise-one-policy" precision assessment was promoted, and a series of systems centered on the "Employee Compensation Management Measures (Trial)" were revised, resulting in income disparities for the same position level across different business units reaching up to 2.9 times. Through organizational restructuring, new platforms like the Municipal Design Branch and the EPC Department were established, promoting the transition of talent toward "technical + operational + managerial" composite roles. Since 2021, 16 members have been selected for the leadership teams of business units, with 82% holding national registered professional qualifications. 150 individuals have been selected for provincial-level or higher expert talent pools, one person was selected as a "Longyuan Young Elite," and one was recognized as a "Gansu Provincial Engineering Design Master." Institutionalized incentives and cultivation have significantly enhanced talent vitality, boosting overall labor productivity to 361,500 yuan per person, with technical backbone personnel accounting for 80% of new Party members developed.
Market breakthroughs have expanded from deep cultivation locally to radiating across the entire region, continuously broadening the development space. The market is the lifeline for an enterprise's survival and development. Facing a severe market situation, the Provincial Engineering Research Institute adhered to a market strategy of "both offense and defense, establishing the new before abolishing the old." By looking beyond Gansu to assess market conditions and examining itself from a national perspective, it opened up new horizons for market development. Breakthroughs outside the province achieved a leap from "0 to 1" and then to "from 1 to N." In 2022, the Institute's business footprint had not yet extended beyond the provincial border. By 2025, within just three years, its presence spanned multiple provinces and regions including Qinghai, Tibet, Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Shanxi, and Shaanxi, successfully undertaking a number of influential landmark projects such as the "Sanjiangyuan National Park Sci-Tech Support Innovation Platform Project." As of 2025, the proportion of contract value from outside the province had steadily risen to 10.12%, further elevating the brand image of the "Gansu Provincial Engineering Research Institute," which was successfully selected as the Most Influential Service Brand in the 2025 "Gansu Good Brands" selection.
Within the province, deep cultivation has built a healthy ecosystem characterized by "multi-point support and full coverage." While expanding external markets, the Institute meticulously cultivated its home base within the province. By establishing a mechanism where the leadership team takes charge of operations and pushing the business focus downward, it deeply served local economic and social development. Its business now covers all 14 prefecture-level cities and the Lanzhou New Area. While consolidating core markets like Lanzhou, Baiyin, and Qingyang (accounting for 65.76% of contract value), it successfully extended its reach to the remaining 11 prefecture-level cities (accounting for 30.40% of contract value), fundamentally changing the previous situation of over-concentrated operations. In the first half of 2025, the value of newly signed contracts increased by 19% year-on-year, directly converting the effectiveness of market expansion into developmental momentum.
Transformation and restructuring have shifted the focus from a single dominant business to diversified synergy, significantly enhancing industrial resilience. Transformation and restructuring are the enterprise's response to the questions of the era, representing a philosophical evolution from a "logic of survival" to a "logic of growth." Guided by a "chain-thinking" approach, the Provincial Engineering Research Institute achieved a transformation and upgrade from a single main business to diversified synergy, accomplishing a profound self-innovation akin to "still waters run deep." Data confirms the structural change. The revenue share of the Construction Drawing Review Center decreased from 67.19% in 2022 to 37.35% in 2025, while maintaining its core competitiveness. The design sector (architecture, municipal, water conservancy) emerged, reaching a share of 33.04%. Business segments like engineering consulting, supervision, and testing/inspection contributed 29.61%. The combined share of non-traditional businesses stabilized above 60%, forming a robust new pattern of "diversified drivers and coordinated development." The industrial chain and value chain were upgraded simultaneously. Transformation is not merely an adjustment of business proportions but also a leap in service models and value. The Institute vigorously developed whole-process engineering consulting and Engineering Procurement Construction models with design at the helm. In projects like the "Lanzhou University Chayu (Tibet) Field Station," it provided "one-stop" services from preliminary planning and design to project management and supervision, significantly enhancing project value-added and customer stickiness. In the first three quarters of 2024, whole-process consulting projects accounted for 81% of the total contract value undertaken by the supervision company. Concurrently, strategic acquisitions were used to fill资质 gaps in sectors like water conservancy and agriculture/forestry. The Institute now possesses 12 Class-A and 11 Class-B qualifications, forming a powerful "qualification matrix" that provides a solid foundation for undertaking comprehensive, high-end projects.
Innovation-driven development has progressed from scattered successes to systematic momentum, continuously consolidating the foundation for development. Driving development through innovation is a systematic project to transform the "variable of technology" into the "increment of development." The Provincial Engineering Research Institute resolutely implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, deeply integrating technological innovation into the entire business chain. From platform building and technical攻关 to成果转化, it systematically constructed a sci-tech innovation ecology supporting sustainable development. The Institute established an integrated linkage mechanism encompassing the "Master Studio," Green Building Center, and Scientific Research Innovation Center. Externally, it forged stable partnerships with top-tier institutions like Lanzhou University and the State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, enabling resource sharing and solidifying the innovation foundation. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the Institute was recognized as a National High-Tech Enterprise and a Specialized, Refined, Distinctive, and New SME. It compiled 33 various standards and achieved over 20 intellectual property outcomes including patents, software copyrights, and monographs. Its scientific research projects won a provincial-level Science and Technology Progress First Prize. These achievements not only helped overcome technical challenges like the "application of metal friction pendulum isolation bearings" but also, by leading the compilation of relevant standards, filled several technical gaps within the province and led industry advancement. The Institute actively promoted digital transformation, successfully implementing a digital-intelligent management platform that standardized and enabled remote office and project management. It comprehensively promoted the deep application of BIM technology in design and construction to enhance quality and efficiency. Simultaneously, it explored the introduction of AI technology and planned the construction of an intelligent collaborative platform, laying the groundwork for building a data-driven modern service system. Scientific and technological innovation成果 have been effectively translated into real productive forces and competitiveness. Over the past five years, direct revenue generation through technical consulting and standard services approached nearly one million yuan. The outcomes were successfully applied and won awards in key projects like the "Majayao Painted Pottery Cultural Town Tibetan Hospital," generating significant social benefits in areas such as green building and urban renewal. The Institute continuously increased its R&D investment, with the R&D intensity reaching 4.12% in 2025, actively transforming this "key variable" into the "greatest increment" for high-quality development.
Party building leadership promotes central work through "chain integration," converting political advantages into developmental advantages. Upholding Party leadership and strengthening Party construction is a glorious tradition of state-owned enterprises, their "root" and "soul," and their unique advantage. The Party Committee of the Provincial Engineering Research Institute innovatively constructed a "chain-based Party building" model, promoting the deep integration of Party building with production and operation. This proved particularly effective in resolving historical challenges such as accounts receivable collection. Organizations are built on the "chain." For engineering projects, a "chain-type" organizational system was constructed, comprising vertical alliances, horizontal Party groups, and temporary project Party branches. Work is integrated into the "chain." Party building work is directly integrated into technical攻关, customer service, and specialized governance, with Party member vanguard teams tackling technical difficulties and Party member service posts enhancing service quality. In the campaign to recover overdue payments, the Institute innovatively created the "Red Debt Recovery · Joint Efforts" Party building brand. By signing "Five-Party Responsibility Agreements," it implemented targeted, "one-place-one-policy"攻坚 in 8 key regions with significant arrears. By November 2025, it had cumulatively recovered historical overdue payments totaling 44.0866 million yuan, helping maintain the company's asset-liability ratio at an excellent level of 3.12% over the long term, while substantially reducing the proportion of non-performing receivables. It also condensed and formed a twenty-character long-term working method: "Leadership Responsibility, Accountability Tracing, Categorized Strategies, Collaborative Linkage, Clear Rewards and Punishments," effectively converting the advantages of Party building into advantages for high-quality development. The "Chain-Based Party Building" case was successfully selected as an Outstanding Case of Enterprise Party Building Innovation in the New Era (First Session) in 2025 and was published and promoted on mainstream media platforms. By promoting the deep integration of Party building and corporate culture, the Institute continuously improved its corporate culture system, achieving an organic fusion of the "red gene" with professional spirit and审查 culture, effectively enhancing cultural soft power and internal cohesion.
Looking back on the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the Provincial Engineering Research Institute, through a comprehensive and profound transformation, achieved changes in momentum, structure, and quality. Looking ahead to the "15th Five-Year Plan" period, this engineering technical service enterprise, having completed its strategic reshaping and power shift, is now bearing a new mission. With more determined steps in reform, a more open market posture, and a more spirited dedication to striving, it is set to compose a even more brilliant new chapter on the new journey of serving and safeguarding national strategies and regional economic and social development.