MEGA Engineering in the World by China

[TaiShang]

Chinese-built mega railway begins construction in Malaysia
(Xinhua) 17:03, August 09, 2017

A mega railway to be built by China was officially launched on Wednesday in the Malaysian city of Kuantan, a milestone for China-Malaysia ties as China pushed forward the Belt and Road Initiative.

At a cost of 55 billion ringgit (12.83 billion U.S. dollars), the 688-km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will help upgrade public transportation infrastructure in the east coast, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak when inaugurating the ground-breaking ceremony of the project.

The ECRL is the first artery railway built in the east coast, which has been connected to the west coast only "via a network of roads and highways, and small rail lines that were woefully inadequate."

Describing the project as a game-changer for Malaysia, Najib said it will significantly cut travel time from Gombak in suburban Kuala Lumpur to Kota Baru in the northeastern state of Kelantan from seven to four hours.

The railway will be built by China Communications Construction Company Ltd., a leading transportation infrastructure group that also built a landmark bridge in the northwestern state of Penang.

Chinese State Councillor Wang Yong also attended the ceremony.

The ECRL will be an electric railway line crossing Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor states. It will accommodate passenger trains at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour and goods trains at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. Construction of the rail link is expected to be completed by 2024.

The Export-Import Bank of China financed 85 percent of the railway with soft loans, while the Malaysian government provided the remaining 15 percent via issuing bonds, according to Najib.

@powastick

 

[powastick]

Chinese-built mega railway begins construction in Malaysia
(Xinhua) 17:03, August 09, 2017

A mega railway to be built by China was officially launched on Wednesday in the Malaysian city of Kuantan, a milestone for China-Malaysia ties as China pushed forward the Belt and Road Initiative.

At a cost of 55 billion ringgit (12.83 billion U.S. dollars), the 688-km East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) will help upgrade public transportation infrastructure in the east coast, said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak when inaugurating the ground-breaking ceremony of the project.

The ECRL is the first artery railway built in the east coast, which has been connected to the west coast only "via a network of roads and highways, and small rail lines that were woefully inadequate."

Describing the project as a game-changer for Malaysia, Najib said it will significantly cut travel time from Gombak in suburban Kuala Lumpur to Kota Baru in the northeastern state of Kelantan from seven to four hours.

The railway will be built by China Communications Construction Company Ltd., a leading transportation infrastructure group that also built a landmark bridge in the northwestern state of Penang.

Chinese State Councillor Wang Yong also attended the ceremony.

The ECRL will be an electric railway line crossing Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Selangor states. It will accommodate passenger trains at a maximum speed of 160 km per hour and goods trains at a maximum speed of 80 km per hour. Construction of the rail link is expected to be completed by 2024.

The Export-Import Bank of China financed 85 percent of the railway with soft loans, while the Malaysian government provided the remaining 15 percent via issuing bonds, according to Najib.

@powastick

The bridge.

Election coming soon, this year election banners for the ruling government(Barisan Nasional) were spotted printing in China.

 

[TaiShang]

The bridge.

Election coming soon, this year election banners for the ruling government(Barisan Nasional) were spotted printing in China.

Malaysian Railway on Track to Be Biggest ‘Belt and Road’ Project Ever
By Coco Feng
Caixin

The $12.8 billion East Coast Rail Link in Peninsular Malaysia is the largest commercial deal ever signed between China and Malaysia. Above, Zhou Li, deputy head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's Central Committee, speaks at the "One Belt, One Road" China-Malaysia Business Dialogue in Beijing in July 2015. Photo: Visual China

Ground has been broken on a Chinese-built, mega rail link in Malaysia — to date the single largest construction project approved under China’s "Belt and Road" initiative.

The 55-billion-ringgit ($12.8 billion) project, called the East Coast Rail Link, is the largest commercial deal ever signed between the two countries.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said at the groundbreaking ceremony on Wednesday that the 688-kilometer (427.5-mile) railway, which is scheduled to take seven years to complete, will cut travel time from the northeastern city of Kota Bharu to suburban Kuala Lumpur from seven to four hours, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.

In 2013, China set a goal to build a modern “Silk Road,” promoting the country’s investment and infrastructure through land corridors to other parts of Asia and sea routes navigating toward the Middle East and Europe.

Chinese State Councilor Wang Yong said he hoped that both China and Malaysia could seize the opportunity brought by the Belt and Road initiative to mutually benefit.

The project will create 80,000 jobs in Malaysia during construction and more than 6,000 stable jobs once the railway starts running, said Liu Qitao, chairman of China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. (CCCC), which is building the railway.

CCCC will also help train more than 3,000 Malaysians involved in the construction and operation of the project, Liu said.

However, the project still has some obstacles to overcome, including land requisition and demolition along the railway’s route, according to a CCCC statement.

Shares of Shanghai-listed CCCC were trading down 0.58% at 15.45 yuan ($2.31) at noon on Thursday.

http://www.caixinglobal.com/2017-08-10/101128625.html

 

[TaiShang]

China to invest $880 million in building new int’l airport for Cambodia
(People's Daily Online) 15:33, August 16, 2017

Cambodian authorities have signed an $880 million contract with Chinese companies, allowing the latter to build a new international airport in Siem Reap next year.

Under the deal, China’s state-owned Yunnan Investment Holdings Ltd (YIHL) will build the new airport about 50 kilometers outside of Siem Reap’s provincial capital, while construction and mine clearance work is currently underway. Cambodia’s State Secretariat of Civil Aviation announced on Aug.15 that all legal procedures had been finished for the new project, while the government is negotiating with a French company that operates the city’s existing airport, determining how to compensate it for prematurely ending its concession license, according to Chinanews.com.

The agreement, signed by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An and YIHL Chairman Sun Yun during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to the Kingdom in October 2016, grants a joint investment consortium formed by YIHL, Yunnan Construction Investment Group, and Yunnan Airport Group an exclusive 55-year build, operate, transfer (BOT) concession on the new airport, according to The Phnom Penh Post, a daily-English newspaper published in Cambodia.

 

[JSCh]

China's investment in Cleveland, Texas, set an example for future development: U.S. mayor
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-17 06:56:11|Editor: Yang Yi



HOUSTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- The unique model of a large housing project in Cleveland, Texas, invested by a Chinese company, has set an example for the future development of the city, Mayor Otis Cohn said here on Wednesday.

Invested by China's Dalian Yihai Enterprise group, the Grand Oak Reserve project is a 600 acre plus master-planned community, with housing, commercial areas, clubhouse and golf courses.

The city of Cleveland and the Liberty County have provided many incentive policies of the project, including reducing of tax and infrastructure investment refund.

"The project will benefit the city as much as benefit the developer," Cohn said at the ceremony. He noted the unique model of the project can be copied in the future development of the city.

Interviewed by Xinhua, Cohn said the investment includes building infrastructure in the area. "It will benefit families around the project as well. Besides, it will create many job opportunities for local people."

Delivering a speech, Chinese Consul General in Houston Li Qiangmin said "with the support from local county and city, this project is not only a business success, but can bring business opportunity and jobs to the local community."

"Today we face the rise of great economic uncertainty. China and the United States should strengthen cooperation, working together for multiregional and world economic integrity," he said.

The company has already made an estimated investment of 10 million U.S. dollars and is projected to spend as much as 300 million U.S. dollars when all three phases of the development are complete. The project is one of the premiere developments and one of the largest investments in Liberty County and Cleveland.

 

[Jlaw]

The bridge.

Election coming soon, this year election banners for the ruling government(Barisan Nasional) were spotted printing in China.

Both sides are fuckers taken the Chinese to hang dry

 

[JSCh]

Argentina endorses joint construction of hydroelectric dams with China
Source: Xinhua| 2017-08-29 10:36:18|Editor: Yang Yi



BUENOS AIRES, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Argentina's government announced Monday it was endorsing the joint construction of two hydroelectric dams in southern Santa Cruz Province with a Chinese company.

President Mauricio Macri's administration announced the endorsement via a joint resolution issued by the ministries of energy and environment.

"Public works approved," the article said, referring to the Nestor Kirchner and Jorge Cepernic dams to be built along the Santa Cruz River.

Concerns about the environmental impact of the project had led to additional studies, and the recommendations will be incorporated in the environmental management plan of the dams, the article said.

The binational project is being undertaken by China's Gezhouba Group, a construction and engineering company that is also helping to finance the work, and an Argentine consortium comprised of Electroingenieria and Hidrocuyo.

In December, the Supreme Court of Justice ordered new impact studies, as well as a congressional hearing on the project, in response to a petition by environmental NGOs.

At the hearing, held on July 20, lawmakers agreed on "the benefit of making progress on the execution of the works for the development of the country," according to the resolution.

"Provincial authorities presented their positive arguments, highlighting the project's contribution to clean energy production, promotion of economic development and employment outlook," it added.

Once completed, the dams will provide 5,000 gigawatt hours of energy, enough to power 1.5 million homes and meet 4 percent of the country's annual energy needs.

 

[JSCh]

City of Pearl: China builds massive Belt and Road metropolis in the Philippines
By April Espejo
2017-09-18 15:42 GMT+8
Updated 2017-09-18 16:04 GMT+8

The Philippines may soon have another “city” in Manila – a massive smart and utopian metropolis never before seen in Southeast Asia. And it will be rising from the sea.

Dubbed the New Manila Bay – City of Pearl, this project is one of China’s biggest investments under the “Belt and Road Initiative” and China's biggest project in the Philippines so far. The first of its kind in the region, the “city within a city” will be built over 407 hectares of man-made island off the coast of the capital city.

Futuristic buildings designed for the City of Pearl / Screenshot from Ho & Partner Architects presentation video

According to Nicholas Ho, deputy managing director of Ho & Partners Architects (hpa), the Hong Kong-based overall planner and lead designer of the project, City of Pearl will become a self-sustaining smart community run by artificial intelligence, with futuristic office buildings, residential blocks, a central park, golf course, marina promenade and an advanced driverless railway system. There will also be water taxis that will connect the island with various districts in Manila. It will also have its own sports stadium, the Pac-Man stadium, named after Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

“The City of Pearl is an example that there are real business opportunities in Belt and Road countries. Its estimated valuation is about 100 billion US dollars,” said Nicholas Ho in a South China Morning Post interview.

The start of an ambitious project

The reclamation work, which will take about four years, started last month after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping gave their “wholehearted” approval to the project’s design.

“None in Asia has this scale of development in such a prime location with such a visionary approach,” said Nicholas Ho. “There are many townships in Asia but those townships are in the middle of nowhere. This township is extremely prime in terms of its location. This one is right smack in the middle of town, with 360-degree ocean views.”

Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte (L) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony in Beijing. Duterte met with Xi on October 20, as the Philippines’ leader seeks closer ties with the Asian giant while blasting his US allies. / AFP Photo

City of Pearl, planned to be the most integrated and progressive central business district of the Philippines, will be a green city as the community will be using mainly renewable energy like solar and tidal power. Less car usage is also expected, with an advanced railway system promoting walkability.

This ambitious “world city” project is the product of years-long negotiations between Beijing and Manila, led by UAA Kinming, a consortium of Filipino-Chinese developers.

The massive metropolis is estimated to generate around 50,000 jobs from construction to development, creating lots of jobs for Filipinos.

The entire infrastructure will take about 30 years to build.

China and the Philippines: Business and political relations

In the case of funding City of Pearl, China is willing to bear all the initial cost despite large amount of risks without any returns. But is it really for nothing?

The Belt and Road initiative is spearheaded by the Chinese government to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe and Africa. Aside from stimulating China’s own economy, the plan is to also bolster its economic relationships and influence, while providing more political capital at home and abroad. This is also an opportunity for China to export their technology, talent and enterprises.

In an interview with CGTN, Prof. Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADR Institute, a strategic policy research group, and managing director of a strategic advisory firm in the Philippines, said that China and the Philippines can still separate their political relations from the business or economic aspect. He also said that it is still premature to assess the actual impact of the project.

“The Philippines needs to update its infrastructure, so it makes sense for it to seek international partners that can help it to achieve its aims,” said Prof. Manhit. “Chinese [firms] benefit from access to more opportunities overseas. In terms of soft power politics, China may benefit from improved relations if the projects are successful. However, because the Philippines has a history of big projects that do not turn out the way they are intended, most people may wait to see real progress on this project.”

Skeptics remain and there are questions about who will eventually have control of the city and whether the port city will be used for any military purposes. He said that there is no “military application for this project” and gave assurance that the Philippines will exercise complete autonomy over it.

“The project does not appear to have a military aspect. It will impact the Philippines-China disputes only if the two countries do not separate their political relations from their business relations,” Prof. Manhit concluded.

 

[cirr]

World’s biggest ore ship completed in China

2017-09-21 14:01

CGTN Editor: Liang Meichen

http://www.ecns.cn/video/2017/09-21/274588.shtml
‍The world's biggest ore carrier manufactured in China left port on Tuesday.

Construction started last October. The new-generation vessel has an all-around upgrade, with greener, more environmentally-friendly, energy-saving features.

Compared with the last generation, it has reduced the fuel consumption by 18.8 percent. The transportation cost of unit-weight iron ore has been decreased by 30 percent from the 200,000-ton vessels, and the latest monitoring system is capable of forecasting and alerting on threats from both the internal and external environment.

The 400,000-ton ore carrier (VLOC) is 362 meters long, with a width of 65 meters, a depth of 30.4 meters and a designed draft of 23 meters. Its deck area is as large as three standard football fields. With a speed of 14.5 knots, it can handle a cruising endurance of 25,500 nautical miles.

Manufactured by four domestic dockyards, there are altogether 30 VLOCs of this type, which will be mainly used for the transportation of iron ore between Brazil and China.

 

[TaiShang]

City of Pearl: China builds massive Belt and Road metropolis in the Philippines
By April Espejo
2017-09-18 15:42 GMT+8
Updated 2017-09-18 16:04 GMT+8

The Philippines may soon have another “city” in Manila – a massive smart and utopian metropolis never before seen in Southeast Asia. And it will be rising from the sea.

Dubbed the New Manila Bay – City of Pearl, this project is one of China’s biggest investments under the “Belt and Road Initiative” and China's biggest project in the Philippines so far. The first of its kind in the region, the “city within a city” will be built over 407 hectares of man-made island off the coast of the capital city.

Futuristic buildings designed for the City of Pearl / Screenshot from Ho & Partner Architects presentation video

According to Nicholas Ho, deputy managing director of Ho & Partners Architects (hpa), the Hong Kong-based overall planner and lead designer of the project, City of Pearl will become a self-sustaining smart community run by artificial intelligence, with futuristic office buildings, residential blocks, a central park, golf course, marina promenade and an advanced driverless railway system. There will also be water taxis that will connect the island with various districts in Manila. It will also have its own sports stadium, the Pac-Man stadium, named after Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao.

“The City of Pearl is an example that there are real business opportunities in Belt and Road countries. Its estimated valuation is about 100 billion US dollars,” said Nicholas Ho in a South China Morning Post interview.

The start of an ambitious project

The reclamation work, which will take about four years, started last month after Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte and Chinese President Xi Jinping gave their “wholehearted” approval to the project’s design.

“None in Asia has this scale of development in such a prime location with such a visionary approach,” said Nicholas Ho. “There are many townships in Asia but those townships are in the middle of nowhere. This township is extremely prime in terms of its location. This one is right smack in the middle of town, with 360-degree ocean views.”

Philippines' President Rodrigo Duterte (L) and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping shake hands after a signing ceremony in Beijing. Duterte met with Xi on October 20, as the Philippines’ leader seeks closer ties with the Asian giant while blasting his US allies. / AFP Photo

City of Pearl, planned to be the most integrated and progressive central business district of the Philippines, will be a green city as the community will be using mainly renewable energy like solar and tidal power. Less car usage is also expected, with an advanced railway system promoting walkability.

This ambitious “world city” project is the product of years-long negotiations between Beijing and Manila, led by UAA Kinming, a consortium of Filipino-Chinese developers.

The massive metropolis is estimated to generate around 50,000 jobs from construction to development, creating lots of jobs for Filipinos.

The entire infrastructure will take about 30 years to build.

China and the Philippines: Business and political relations

In the case of funding City of Pearl, China is willing to bear all the initial cost despite large amount of risks without any returns. But is it really for nothing?

The Belt and Road initiative is spearheaded by the Chinese government to improve trade and economic integration across Asia, Europe and Africa. Aside from stimulating China’s own economy, the plan is to also bolster its economic relationships and influence, while providing more political capital at home and abroad. This is also an opportunity for China to export their technology, talent and enterprises.

In an interview with CGTN, Prof. Dindo Manhit, president of Stratbase ADR Institute, a strategic policy research group, and managing director of a strategic advisory firm in the Philippines, said that China and the Philippines can still separate their political relations from the business or economic aspect. He also said that it is still premature to assess the actual impact of the project.

“The Philippines needs to update its infrastructure, so it makes sense for it to seek international partners that can help it to achieve its aims,” said Prof. Manhit. “Chinese [firms] benefit from access to more opportunities overseas. In terms of soft power politics, China may benefit from improved relations if the projects are successful. However, because the Philippines has a history of big projects that do not turn out the way they are intended, most people may wait to see real progress on this project.”

Skeptics remain and there are questions about who will eventually have control of the city and whether the port city will be used for any military purposes. He said that there is no “military application for this project” and gave assurance that the Philippines will exercise complete autonomy over it.

“The project does not appear to have a military aspect. It will impact the Philippines-China disputes only if the two countries do not separate their political relations from their business relations,” Prof. Manhit concluded.

This is exactly what VCP (Vietnam) has no intention to use out on.

Cooperation with China pays off. Cooperation with the US comes in the form of subjugation and increase in terrorism activity.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese consortium to build $5.8bn Mambila hydroelectric power project in Nigeria
Published 21 September 2017

China Gezhouba Group’s consortium has secured a contract to build $5.8bn Mambila hydroelectric power project in Nigeria.

Upon completion, the hydroelectric projects will have a power generation capacity of 3,050MW.

The hydroelectric power plant will be located in Gembu, Taraba state, Nigeria. It is claimed to become the largest plant in Nigeria after completion.

The hydroelectric power project will include construction of four dams and 700km of transmission lines.

It will also feature two connecting roads with a total of 15.9km, two total 6.8km of diversion tunnel, two total of 7.6km tailrace tunnel, underground powerhouse, 12 impact water turbine and power generation system, 27,000 tons of gold knot security, and 184km approach road.

Under the terms of the contract, Nigeria will contribute about $870m to the project, representing 15% of overall cost.

The remaining cost of the project will be met by the China Energy Engineering through funding from the China Exim Bank.

Nigeria’s hydro power capacity is expected to exceed 4,500MW after the completion of the Mambilla power project.

In August, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) of Nigeria approved the development of the hydroelectric power project.

Due to funding constraints, the project faced many delays even as it was first conceived in 1982.

Nigeria Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola was quoted by Nigeria Today as saying: “Several efforts had been made to bring it to reality but I’m happy to announce that this government approved the contract today to joint ventures of Chinese Civil and Engineering company for the engineering and turn-key contract, including civil and electro-mechanical works for $5.792bn.”


Chinese consortium to build $5.8bn Mambila hydroelectric power project in Nigeria - Energy Business Review

 

[JSCh]

Spotlight: Chinese-built biggest dam in Cambodia to start operation in November
Source: Xinhua| 2017-09-25 14:00:14|Editor: An



STUNG TRENG, Cambodia, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) -- The 400-megawatt Lower Sesan II Hydropower Plant, which is Cambodia's biggest hydropower dam so far, will start operation in November after almost four years of construction.

Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen and Chinese Ambassador to Cambodia Xiong Bo presided over a ceremony to close the dam's water gates on Monday.

According to a report by Cambodian Minister of Mines and Energy Suy Sem, the plant has eight turbines and each turbine has installed capacity of 50 megawatts.

The construction of the whole project is almost completed, as the first turbine will be put into operation in November, and all of the 8 turbines will be fully operational in October, 2018, he said.

The project is a joint venture among China's Huaneng Hydrolancang International Energy holding 51 percent of the stake, Cambodia's Royal Group owning 39 percent and Vietnamese EVN International Joint Stock Company possessing 10 percent.

The project is a concessional contract of a 45-year build-operate-transfer (BOT), of which, 5 years for construction and 40 years for operations, the minister said, adding that the plant is estimated to produce 1.9 billion kilowatt-hour per year and the electricity will be sold to the Electricity of Cambodia at the fixed price of 6.95 U.S. cents per kilowatt-hour.

The plant could generate tax revenue about 30 million U.S. dollars per year when it is fully operational.

Speaking during the closure ceremony of the water gates, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said the project is a new achievement in the development of energy sector in Cambodia.

"I can say that it is the biggest-ever hydroelectric power dam in Cambodia," he said.

Hun Sen said since the past until the present, Cambodia's northeastern region, including Stung Treng, Kratie, Ratanakkiri and Mondolkiri provinces, had relied on electricity mainly imported from neighboring Laos.

"But from now on, especially when the first turbine starts operating, residents in these provinces will have access to long-term and reliable electricity with cheap prices," he said.

The Lower Sesan II Hydropower Plant is 56.5 meters tall and covers a 36,000 hectare plot. The project has affected 860 families in six villages. To date, 752 families, or 88 percent of them, have accepted compensation and relocated to new villages.

"There is no any development in the world that does not affect environment; it's just small or big impact only," the prime minister said. "This project will provide great benefit to socio-economic development and poverty reduction, especially in the northeastern region."

Meanwhile, Hun Sen expressed his gratitude to China for always supporting Cambodia in socio-economic development.

Huang Yongda, president of China Huaneng Group, the parent company of Huaneng Hydrolancang International Energy, said the project was a testament to the fruitful cooperation between China and Cambodia under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

"This is also a key achievement in energy cooperation between China and Cambodia," he said.

China is the largest investor in developing hydroelectric dams in Cambodia. According to the Cambodian Ministry of Mines and Energy, Chinese enterprises have invested for seven dam projects in Cambodia.

The ministry said the total capacity in Cambodia last year was 2,008 megawatts, including 1,592 megawatts taken from hydropower plants, coal-fired power plants, oil-fueled power plants, solar power plants, and etc.

By June 2017, the Cambodian government had expanded electricity to 11,195 villages nationwide, or about 79 percent of the kingdom's total villages, the ministry said, adding that a total of 1.98 million households were also connected, or 60.4 percent of the kingdom's 3.28 million households.

 

[TaiShang]

Overseas infrastructure expanding
By Chu Daye Source:Global Times Published: 2017/10/22

Chinese solutions seen benefiting the world

People celebrate the opening of the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Mombasa, Kenya in May 2017. Photo: IC

China's investment in overseas infrastructure has expanded during the past five years from connectivity and energy to industrialization, with a notable growth in the buildup of soft infrastructure, a Chinese expert said over the weekend.

Since 2010, the overseas assets of centrally administered State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have grown at an annualized rate of 15 percent and their operating income grew at 4 percent each year, according to a statement on the website of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) in June. The statement noted that these companies have set up overseas subsidiaries in 185 countries and regions.

The scope of business has expanded from engineering projects, energy and resource exploration to areas such as high-speed railways, nuclear power, telecommunications and grid network construction, said the statement.

More sectors

Liu Ying, a research fellow with the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, said centrally administered SOEs are part of the backbone of China's overseas infrastructure expansion, and countries and regions joining the Belt and Road initiative are the main destination.

"In addition to ports, roads and pipelines, there are more than 100 overseas economic cooperation industrial parks and cross-border economic cooperation zones globally. To allow these parks to function, usually it is the Chinese companies that lay down the infrastructure," Liu told the Global Times on Sunday.

The Chinese infrastructure projects also invite the participation of local companies and third-party countries.

"The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, for instance, involves the participation of UK firms. It helps to contain risks and makes success easier," Liu said.

Global benefits

China Railway Construction Corp (CRCC), one of many central SOEs to have invested abroad, said in a statement e-mailed to the Global Times over the weekend that China's engineering capacity has won worldwide recognition in terms of scale, quality, technology and standards in the past five years.

"With more and more 'Super Projects' going overseas, Chinese technology, solutions and wisdom are being offered to the world, and this will benefit people and boost cooperation," the company said.

During the past five years, CRCC has conducted business in 116 countries and regions. The company took part in the construction of the Haramain High Speed Rail project in Saudi Arabia and the Ankara-Istanbul Railway in Turkey. It also completed the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, the first electrified railway in Africa to use Chinese standards across the whole industrial chain, CRCC said.

The company has more than 60,000 overseas employees, only 10,000 of whom are Chinese, the company said.

CRCC said that the volume of its foreign projects increased from $11.4 billion in 2014 to $18.8 billion to date, and the company's Fortune 500 ranking has also risen to 58 from the previous ranking of 111.

State-owned China Communication Construction Corp (CCCC), a leading company in the infrastructure and engineering sector, said in a statement sent to the Global Times last week that it has engaged in more than 200 projects along the Belt and Road route totaling over $50 billion.

These include Sri Lanka's Colombo Port City, Pakistan's Gwadar Port and the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway in Kenya, CCCC said.

For the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway, the company is in charge of the operation and maintenance, CCCC said, noting this has set up a new model for China's railway technology exports.

CCCC has so far built 10,320 kilometers of roads, 152 bridges, 2,080 kilometers of rail road, 10 airports, 95 deep-sea berths, and created about 100,000 local jobs, said the statement.

Liu said China is offering an integral approach in boosting trade and investment. "China wants to do business with its neighbor, so it helps that neighbor to build a road first. The focus is not on making a profit with that road; the focus is on what's coming after that," Liu said.

"Infrastructure is the first step, and it will be followed with trade and investment and industrial cooperation. Efforts to facilitate trade and investment also matter and soft infrastructure improvements such as bilateral agreements on boosting customs clearance and newly opened air links have also increased over the past five years," Liu noted.

Read more in Special Coverage:


http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1071430.shtml

 

[TaiShang]

Chinese enterprise solves world problem, builds Algeria’s longest railway tunnel

By Zhang Huan (People's Daily Online) 16:50, October 31, 2017

The Gantas tunnel, Algeria’s longest railway tunnel, has been built by Chinese enterprise, although it has long been regarded as a sticky business by engineers in the world due to complicated geological conditions, Thepaper.cn reported on Oct. 30.

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) spent as long as some seven years in building the 14.68-kilometer-long tunnel due to financial matter, complicated geological conditions and different construction standards.

The tunnel lessens travelling time between Oran and Algiers by half to 2 hours only. It significantly promotes industrial development, agricultural modernization and urbanization development, and economic and social development for provinces along the railway, said Wang Wenzhong, vice president of CRCC.

The trunk railway, with an overall length of 2,730 kilometers, is the transportation artery of the North Africa connecting Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

Construction of the tunnel is an important and also the most difficult part of the railway, as the rock stratum of the tunnel is mainly composed of marlstone, which swells when encountering water and shrinks after losing water.

Even though the third party intendance of the project SYSTRA, which designed the Channel Tunnel, failed to propose a solution at that time, CRCC put forward a supporting scheme according to its construction experience and consultation with experts, and the scheme was tested to be effective.

The project turned CRCC from a project subcontractor into the prime contractor, which took the responsibility of investment and financing, design, construction and operation of the project.

Moreover, successful construction of the tunnel not only signifies that Chinese enterprises can meet requirement of the European standard, but also can play a significant role in design of major complex projects, said Wang Jinsong, vice general manager of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation.

http://en.people.cn/n3/2017/1031/c90000-9287089.html

 

[JSCh]

Cote d'Ivoire inaugurates Chinese-built biggest hydropower dam
Xinhua | Updated: 2017-11-03 12:09

The Chinese-built Soubre hydroelectric power station is inaugurated in Soubre, Cote d'Ivoire on Nov 2, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]

SOUBRE, Cote d'Ivoire - Cote d'Ivoire on Thursday inaugurated the Chinese-built Soubre hydroelectric power station, the largest of its kind in the West African country.

The 4.5-km-long hydropower dam at Naoua Falls on the Sassandra River, with an installed capacity of 275 megawatts (MW), is expected to increase hydro power in Cote d'Ivoire's energy mix and cement the country's status as a key power producer and supplier in West Africa.

The Soubre project, dormant for several decades due to lack of funding, was launched in February 2013 with funding from China.

One of Soubre's four total generator units started generating electricity in May, about eight months ahead of schedule, according to the builder Sinohydro Corporation Limited, which is under PowerChina.

"The Government of Cote d'Ivoire is very satisfied with the quality and speed of the construction of the Soubre hydroelectric dam," Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d'Ivoire, said at the inauguration ceremony held in front of the dam.

The president said Cote d'Ivoire is willing to have more cooperation with China.

Hailing it as "one of the landmark achievements of cooperation between China and Cote d'Ivoire," Wang Jun, Charge d'affaires of the Chinese Embassy in Cote d'Ivoire, noted in his speech that the hydro station has helped deepen the bilateral economic and trade cooperation, especially in the areas of energy and hydroelectricity.

"Soubre dam is of high quality and built within a shorter period than schedule. I've been impressed by both the determination and flexibility shown in the Chinese builder's work," said Teyssiaux Jean, an engineer with Tractebel Engineering, a French company in charge of quality supervision over Soubre's construction.

The cost of the Soubre project is about 572 million US dollars, of which 85 percent is financed by the Export-Import Bank of China and 15 percent by Cote d'Ivoire.

Cote d'Ivoire has the ambition to push its power production capacity to 4,000 MW by 2020. Thursday's inauguration of Soubre adds to the country's existing capacity of around 2,000 MW.

"With Soubre dam, we're on course to meet the target of 4,000 MW by 2020," said Thierry Tanoh, energy minister of Cote d'Ivoire, noting that the dam contributes greatly to the improvement of people's livelihoods.

Following the Soubre inauguration, a foundation laying ceremony was held at the same site for the 112-MW Gribo-Popoli project, a dam 15 km downstream of Soubre, to be built also by Sinohydro.

Alassane Ouattara, President of Cote d'Ivoire, attends the inauguration ceremony held in front of the Chinese-built Soubre hydroelectric power station, the largest of its kind in the West African country in Soubre, Cote d'Ivoire on Nov 2, 2017. [Photo/Xinhua]