MEGA Engineering in the World by China

[ZY-CN-CA]

WHY CHINA!
For example, the environment in Africa is very bad,desert, mosquito, disease, forest ,the construction is very difficult, but the Chinese people hard-working, successfully completed.If chose other countries worker, costs and events will be greatly increased(High wages and low efficiency)
--I live in Canada.
Canada plans to build a road, four years still in the discussion,loafing on the job.
......Not only in Canada, many places are doing things like this,In China seems to be impossible to imagine.China will think best and fast.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese firm wins $949m gas pipeline project from the NNPC
Nairametrics May 8, 2017

The China National Petroleum Corporation Engineering Co., Ltd reports that it has won a Natural Gas pipeline project in Nigeria. The company confirmed the deal via a press release which can be found here.

Here is what we know about the deal;

• The China National Petroleum Corporation Engineering Co via its subsidiary, China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau Engineering Co., Ltd. and Brentex Petroleum Services Limited (Brentex) got a contract to build the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Natural Gas Pipeline Project Kaduna-Kano Section.
• The project is one part of an East West Gas project commissioned by the NNPC earlier this year and valued at about $5 billion.
• This part of the project is said to be worth about $949 million
• The project was awarded by the NNPC under a contractor financing scheme.
• The Kaduna-Kano pipeline is AKK natural gas pipeline project and will include a 40-inch pipeline 221 km, 2 station and 7 valve room and its ancillary facilities.
• The project is expected to help supply gas to power plants located along that corridor.
• For example, the Kaduna State Government estimates that the proposed project would help energise the 215 megawatts Kudende Power Plant and provide energy for a proposed fertiliser company to be sited in the state
• According to the award letter, the consortium will assume the design, procurement, construction and transportation of the Kaduna-Kano pipeline
• Annual operating income from the project is estimated at 12.93%

China National Petroleum Corporation Engineering Co wins Ajaokuta-Kaduna Kano | Nairametrics

 

[JSCh]

Chinese company to build highest building in Africa
(People's Daily Online) 14:19, May 18, 2017

(Photo/CRCC)​

China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) has won the bid for construction of Africa's highest building, which will be located in Morocco, the company announced on May 17.

According to CRCC, the company will cooperate with the largest Moroccan contractor, The General Construction Company of Casablanca (TGCC), to build the project that will tower 250 meters above Morocco's capital city of Rabat. The monumental building will become the highest building in all of Africa.

CRCC would take 60 percent of responsibility for the construction, leaving TGCC with the remaining 40 percent. Their cooperation defeated seven other competitors in three rounds of bidding.

(Photo/CRCC)​

The construction contract was for $380 million, with a designated total floor area of 86,000 square meters. The building could be used as office space, hotels or high-end apartments. It is being designed and will be constructed in an environmentally friendly way. Once completed, it will become a landmark building in Morocco and Africa, broadcasting Morocco's economic prosperity.

CRCC said in its announcement that the construction contract, which was finalized just after the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, will not only positively impact Morocco's skyscraper technologies, it will also help to promote economic and cultural exchanges between Morocco and China.

 

[JSCh]

Chinese firm to construct 120-MW wind farm in Ethiopia
(Xinhua) 18:13, May 18, 2017

ADDIS ABABA, May 18 (Xinhua) -- China's Dongfang Electric Corporation will build a 120-megawatt (MW) wind farm in Ethiopia's Somali regional state, an Ethiopian official said Thursday.

In a statement sent to Xinhua, Bizuneh Tolcha, Public Relation and Communication Director at the Ethiopia Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE), said the Ethiopian government expects the project to be started by July.

"The wind farm project is expected to need 18 months to finish, cost about 257 million dollars to construct with 85 percent of the funding coming from the China's Export-Import Bank and the rest from the Ethiopian government," he said.

According to the ministry, pre-construction work is already undergoing at the site of wind farm, which when completed will be the fourth wind farm in the East African nation.

The three other wind projects -- the 120-MW Ashegoda wind farm located in northern Ethiopia, the 51-MW Adama I and 153-MW Adama II wind farm projects both in central Ethiopia -- have been previously commissioned.

The Ethiopian government plans to increase its electricity generation capacity from the current 4,200 MW to about 17,300 MW by 2020 using hydro, wind, geothermal, biomass and solar energy.

Earlier this month, Ethiopia said its Genale Dawa III hydropower project is expected to start generating electricity in September. The 254-MW project is being built by China Gezhouba Group Company.

 

[TaiShang]

CRCC to build Morocco tower
By ZHONG NAN in Shanghai and REN XIAOJIN in Beijing | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-19

A man walks past a poster with the logo of China Railway Construction Corp in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Aug 15, 2016. [Photo/VCG]


China Railway Construction Corp has won the bidding to build Africa's tallest high-rise tower with local partners in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, the company said on Thursday.

CRCC International Ltd, the international arm of CRCC, in a consortium with Moroccan companies, will work on the construction of the 250-meter-tall skyscraper. The contract is said to be worth $375 million, with the Chinese firm holding a 60 percent stake.

According to the CRCC's headquarters in Beijing, the tower in Rabat, which will include offices, hotels and luxury apartments, will adopt ecological and sustainable design concepts. The total designed floor space is 86,000 square meters.

The project, CRCC's first skyscraper in Morocco, will accelerate the development of infrastructure and engineering projects not only in North Africa, but also in other markets related to the Belt and Road Initiative, said the CRCC.

"Building this project also shows that Morocco is eager to attract global companies and tourists through better-developed infrastructure facilities," said Zhou Yongfeng, an economics professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing.

Zhou said Chinese contractors need to pay special attention to the high expectations of their foreign clients, who sometimes struggle to find suitable service providers for their projects, especially in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.

Unlike other Chinese construction companies, which focus only on engineering, procurement and construction projects, CRCC has gradually transformed its business model to offer build-operate-transfer projects and public-private partnership projects, particularly in developing economies.

CRCC is building eco-agriculture factories in Thailand, a 92,000-seat stadium for Qatar's 2022 World Cup, housing projects in Nigeria and light railway projects in Israel.

"These projects can also generate decent financial returns in the long run, because many foreign clients and partners need to minimize utility and maintenance costs," said Zhao Ying, a researcher at the institute of industrial economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing.

Eager to enhance their earning capacity, other Chinese construction companies, such as China Communications Construction Co and Shanghai Construction Group, have already offered services such as construction and low-cost service solutions for buildings, bridges, stadiums and railway maintenance in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia and Southeast Asia.

 

[TaiShang]

China's overseas contracted projects rise in 2016
Xinhua | Updated: 2017-05-23


BEIJING - China's project contractors witnessed brisk growth in operating income and newly signed contracts overseas last year due to transportation, electricity and construction projects, said a recent industry report.

Combined business revenue from contracted projects overseas increased 3.5 percent year on year to $159.4 billion in 2016, the China International Contractors Association said Monday in a report.

These companies signed new contracts last year totaling $244 billion, surging 16.2 percent year on year in 2016, with 33 such projects worth more than $1 billion each, six more than in 2015, noted the report.

Despite anemic global market demand, the Chinese project contractors' overseas business was buttressed by transportation projects, railways in particular, electricity projects and various construction projects, especially non-residential construction, it added.

Countries along the Belt and Road will continue to be growth engines for Chinese contractors' overseas business, but they are also confronted with challenges including homogeneous competition among peers and mounting financing stress in some African and Latin American countries, it said.

Fang Qiuchen, chairman of the association, suggested increasing financing support to contractors, speeding up business model innovation and improving their risk control capabilities.

The Belt and Road Initiative is a grand plan proposed by China in 2013 to connect Asia with Europe and Africa along - and beyond - ancient trade routes by building a trade and infrastructure network.

The China International Contractors Association was established in 1988 by Chinese international project investors, contractors, labor service companies and related service providers, and has more than 1,300 members.

 

[JSCh]

Hydroelectric Dam Opens in Lorestan


A hydroelectric dam in the western Lorestan Province was inaugurated by Energy Minister Hamid Chitchian on Thursday.

Rudbar Hydroelectric Dam in the city of Aligudarz, a mountainous region with abundant rainfall and moderate climate throughout the year, has two power production units, each with 225 megawatts, IRNA reported.

The facility will produce 986 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually. Iran's total electricity output reached 282,000 gigawatt-hours in fiscal year 2015-16, according to Energy Ministry data.

"A total of 2.2 trillion rials (almost $578 million) has been spent on Rudbar power station. Nearly 85% of the funds was provided by the Chinese who played a key role in the construction and financing of the power project," Chitchian said, referring to the China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC).

The dam is built on Rudbar River along the Zagros Mountains in Lorestan. Construction began in April 2011.

"This (Rudbar project) is the symbol of collaboration between Iran and China. They are also contributing to the development of Chamshir hydroelectric dam in Kohgiluyeh-Boyer Ahmad Province," he noted.

Mehr News Agency reported in April that China Export and Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure) was to open a €320 million ($341 million) credit line for Chamshir dam with a production capacity of 130 MW.

Chitchian added that the ministry is keen to completing the Bakhtiari hydropower station west of Lorestan with 750 MW installed capacity. The dam's annual output is estimated at 3,000 gigawatt-hours.

The launch of Rudbar power station is in line with efforts to boost electricity generation from non-fossil fuel sources, including from hydro power, and reduce harmful emissions.

"Iran has the capacity to raise hydroelectric power production to 30,000 MW," Chitchian noted.

Representatives of 195 countries, including Iran, signed a historic agreement in Paris in 2015 to curb global emissions of greenhouse gases and limit the planet’s warming to under 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, by 2100.

Iran has pledged to increase the share of renewables in its power mix to 7,500 MW by 2030. Installed capacity of thermal power plants amounts to 61,000 MW, or more than 80% of the national power generation capacity. Add to that 12,000 MW of installed hydroelectric capacity and approximately 240 MW from renewables, including wind and solar.


Hydroelectric Dam Opens in Lorestan | IRAN Enenrgy News

 

[Shotgunner51]

Power China and the Chinese Communications Construction Company are among the best-equipped and most experienced engineering firms, wish them success in the tender!

http://santiagotimes.cl/2017/06/01/...rested-in-1-5-billion-chile-argentina-tunnel/
Chinese, Europeans interested in $1.5 billion Chile-Argentina tunnel
Posted By: Web Editor on: June 01, 2017

SANTIAGO – Chinese and European firms have formally expressed interest in building a landmark US$1.5 billion tunnel under the Andes mountains to connect Argentina and Chile.

Chinese companies Power China and the Chinese Communications Construction Company, Spain’s OHL and FCC, and Italy’s Astaldi and Salini Impregilo are among the interested parties, according to Chile’s minister of public works Alberto Undurraga.

China Power is one of the country’s biggest companies, with involvement on major infrastructure projects, both abroad and at home, such as the Three Gorges Dam.

The planned Agua Negra tunnel would be over 13km in length and would connect Chile’s Coquimbo region with the Argentine province of San Juan, both mining regions. The tunnel would be able to operate year round, unlike existing cross-border roads that pass over the Andes and often must close during winter snowstorms.

Both Chile and Argentina are revamping their infrastructure, drawing interest from Asian companies for the first time. Infrastructure in the area has traditionally been dominated by Spanish and Italian companies.

Building the tunnel would be an ambitious and complex project that would likely take more than 10 years to complete, said Argentina’s Transport Planning Secretary German Bussi.

The tender for the project is due to start in September or October.​

 

[cirr]

Another fine example of mega engineering - deepsea fish farm

http://www.guancha.cn/Industry/2017_06_03_411458.shtml

Diameter: 110m
Height: 20 stories
Weight: 7693 tons
Volume: 250000m3
Cost: 420 million yuan

The "giant cage" is big enough to hold 1.5 million salmons each weighing 5-6kg worth a total of appx. 100 million USD.

China will build tens of this monster structure for Norway which has made top agenda the export to China of salmons and other fishery products.

 

[TaiShang]

Sinotruk supports construction projects around the world
By Zhang Zhao (China Daily)Updated: 2017-05-15 08:40


When Liu Yehui, a worker at China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, or Sinotruk, went to Bangladesh with his colleagues for the first time in 2011, he heard local people say that Chinese vehicles were of poor quality.

But today, the company has taken 70 percent of the engineering vehicles market in Bangladesh and Sinotruk is now regarded as a high-end brand.

Sinotruk's heavy-duty trucks have been sold to 96 countries and regions around the world. Last year, the company exported 32,600 vehicles, leading the industry for the 12th year. Among them, 11,688 vehicles were exported to 33 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has become the best platform for Sinotruk's globalization process," said the company's chairman Ma Chunji. "Our products are China's national name card for its overseas infrastructure construction projects, and we are enjoying a growing reputation."

Founded in 1956 in Jinan, Shandong province, Sinotruk produced China's first ever heavy-duty truck. It has always paid attention to an internationalized development strategy, introducing overseas advanced technologies and experiences, and adding its own innovations.

It introduced a heavy-duty truck project from Steyr, Austria, in 1983, China's first company to import heavy-truck manufacturing technologies from abroad.

The company was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007.

In 2009, it launched a strategic partnership with leading German commercial vehicle brand Man Group, introducing its D08, D20 and D26 engine technologies, its medium and heavy-duty truck axle technologies, and its corresponding vehicle technologies to China. This allowed Man to purchase 25 percent of Sinotruk (Hong Kong) for 560 million euros ($612 million).

"I can proudly say that the heavy-duty truck engines and other components produced by Sinotruk have world-class reliability and durability," said the company's general manager Cai Dong. "This is the reason why our products can enter the high-end markets in developed countries and regions."

Sinotruk has adopted a multiple-brand strategy in order to better participate in diverse market segments. It categorizes its products under four major sub-brands: Sitrak, Howo, Steyr and Hohan. These cover both high and low-end markets to meet the demands of different consumers.

Sinotruk now has more than 3,000 heavy-duty truck models in nine series, a big increase on 78 models it offered in 2001.

Currently, about 30 percent of the company's products are sold overseas. The company estimates that number will grow to 50 percent by 2020.

"Sinotruk has a long way to go in terms of globalization," Ma said. "We want to compete with world giants and become one of the top manufacturers."

Africa is one of the company's focus markets. Sales in that region account for more than 30 percent of Sintruk's total overseas sales. Its products are used in transportation, infrastructure construction and civil engineering.

The company signed a contract with a local industry leader in Nigeria in 2011 to export 1,500 vehicles. In 2014, it built an assembly factory in the country with a local partner to cover the western Africa market.

So far, 15 such assembly factories have been built in seven countries and regions along the Belt and Road, including Pakistan, Vietnam, Myanmar and Malaysia.

In Central Asia - an important region for the Belt and Road Initiative - Sinotruk has set up four representative offices and more than 10 sales centers, partnering with local vehicle retailers. They have so far sold 15,000 products.

"Our improving sales performance can be partially attributed to our improving product quality and partially thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, which has brought more projects and investment opportunities," said Wang Li from Sinotruk's Pakistan office.

Lan Junjie, an executive from the company's overseas business sector, said that productivity cooperation, localized manufacturing, and capital and technology exportation have brought about win-win effects.

In many overseas markets, Sinotruk has employed local workers and sales personnel, and used trademarks and joint promotional campaigns with its partners to overcome challenges in terms of sales, legal frameworks and culture.

Service provision

Liu Wei, deputy general manager of Sinotruk, said that establishing a brand in the overseas markets relies not only on high-quality products, but also high-quality after-sales services.

Over the past decade, the company has transformed itself from just a truck manufacturer to an exporter and international service provider. It has set up six regional headquarters, covering Southeast Asia, the Middle East, southern Africa, northern Africa, Central Asia and South America.

The company has more than 400 service centers, 300 warehouses and 1,000 retail offices in its overseas sales network, covering more than 100 countries and regions worldwide, with nearly 1,000 sales and service personnel.

Sinotruk has translated its product instructions, maintenance manuals, component directories and training textbooks into the languages of its market countries.

The overseas markets have provided strong support to Sinotruk's sales performance, but Sinotruk Chairman Ma Chunji has an even more ambitious plan for the company's global development.

"We will further expand the market, especially in developed countries and regions, in the future," he said. "We will build Sinotruk into an internationalized business vehicle manufacturer with a strong research and development capacity, sustainable profitability and annual revenue exceeding 100 billion yuan ($14.49 billion) by the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20)."

zhangzhao@chinadaily.com.cn

Axles displayed by Sinotruk at an auto show in Shanghai attract international buyers. Provided To China Daily

 

[Shotgunner51]

Another fine example of mega engineering - deepsea fish farm

http://www.guancha.cn/Industry/2017_06_03_411458.shtml

Diameter: 110m
Height: 20 stories
Weight: 7693 tons
Volume: 250000m3
Cost: 420 million yuan

The "giant cage" is big enough to hold 1.5 million salmons each weighing 5-6kg worth a total of appx. 100 million USD.

China will build tens of this monster structure for Norway which has made top agenda the export to China of salmons and other fishery products.

First time ever heard about deepsea fish farm, these worth billions! Please feel free to share more pics.
P.S.: China sends machines to Norway, which sends back salmon to China, balancing BoP, that's what I like.

 

[JSCh]

China builds world’s first offshore fish farm
By Xie Zhenqi (CNTV) 14:13, June 04, 2017

(Photo/CGTN)​

China has finished building the world’s first deep-sea fish farm off the coast of Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province, incorporating the most advanced and sustainable technology in fish breeding. The mega-structure will soon be delivered to Norway as the Scandinavian country braves new waters in offshore fish farming.

"Ocean Farm 1" goes beyond the narrow definition of a farm, offering a fully-automated platform for marine projects and preparing the ground for testing the biological and technological dimensions of open ocean aquaculture.

It is "a full-scale pilot facility for testing, learning, research and development. It will be equipped for R&D activities, with particular focus on biological conditions and fish welfare. Aiming to reduce environmental footprints, improve fish welfare and answer acreage challenges," reads an introduction page about the naval structure on the official website of SalMar, the Norwegian fish farm company commissioning the project.

Built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, a subsidiary of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, the semi-submersible facility exemplifies the progress and mastery of China's naval engineering capabilities.

SalMar had provided an initial layout with their preferences, and the Chinese company conducted engineering design and construction. However, the construction process was not without hurdles.

According to Yan Jun, Deputy Chief Engineer of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, the sheer size of the main body of the farm, up to 70 meters in height (or 23 storeys), pauses challenges for installation precision, especially that deep-sea waters are involved. The "unparalleled" technology will allow the farm to "float" in half-dive mode.

The 110-meters wide structure can contain 250,000 cubic meters in volume (equivalent to roughly 200 standard swimming pools), and withstand magnitude 12 earthquakes.

Some 20,000 sensors allow the marine site to achieve complete automation in monitoring and feeding the fish. The farm can mature up to 1.5 million in 14 months or 8,000 tons of fish.

The salmon market accounts for 20 percent of Norway's GDP.

The super fish farm is also equipped with a 360 degree revolving gate for cleaning fish nets and driving fish shoals.

"The revolving gate requires an accurately rotating axis and the precise installation of the framework, which were installed using remote control methods with precision to the millimeter," Yan noted.

Yan said technical transformation and the "Made in China" program are changing the face of China's shipbuilding industry, giving it a competitive advantage and international recognition.

"We have achieved a safety record of 6.2 million error-free work hours and precision control of every part, every welding seam, every pipeline and every valve. That shows the level of upgrade of China's manufacturing and the confidence of customers in China's manufacturing," said Chen Haiyong, Director of the Norway fish farm project.

The fish farm was officially handed over to the Norwegian company at a ceremony on Saturday. The structure will be sea transferred on June 10 to the coast of Norway, in a journey which will take up to six weeks.

#####
​

World's first 'offshore' aquaculture development project receives green light from Norwegian government

The Ocean Farming facility is a new and innovative design, developed to overcome the challenges of more traditional inshore fish farming facilities by being located in deeper waters, further from the coast.

5. April 2016

The Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Fisheries has approved Norway's first development concession enabling Ocean Farming AS, supported by Kongsberg Maritime AS, to build the world's first automated 'exposed' aquaculture facility. Situated outside of Trondheim, this innovative new facility introduces a paradigm shift in salmon farming now, and other fish types in the future and is a significant step in Norway's efforts to deliver technical solutions to address the impending global food gap challenge.


---> World's first 'offshore' aquaculture development project receives green light from Norwegian government - Kongsberg Maritime

 

[yantong1980]

China builds world’s first offshore fish farm
By Xie Zhenqi (CNTV) 14:13, June 04, 2017

(Photo/CGTN)​

China has finished building the world’s first deep-sea fish farm off the coast of Qingdao City, east China's Shandong Province, incorporating the most advanced and sustainable technology in fish breeding. The mega-structure will soon be delivered to Norway as the Scandinavian country braves new waters in offshore fish farming.

"Ocean Farm 1" goes beyond the narrow definition of a farm, offering a fully-automated platform for marine projects and preparing the ground for testing the biological and technological dimensions of open ocean aquaculture.

It is "a full-scale pilot facility for testing, learning, research and development. It will be equipped for R&D activities, with particular focus on biological conditions and fish welfare. Aiming to reduce environmental footprints, improve fish welfare and answer acreage challenges," reads an introduction page about the naval structure on the official website of SalMar, the Norwegian fish farm company commissioning the project.

Built by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, a subsidiary of the China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation, the semi-submersible facility exemplifies the progress and mastery of China's naval engineering capabilities.

SalMar had provided an initial layout with their preferences, and the Chinese company conducted engineering design and construction. However, the construction process was not without hurdles.

According to Yan Jun, Deputy Chief Engineer of Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, the sheer size of the main body of the farm, up to 70 meters in height (or 23 storeys), pauses challenges for installation precision, especially that deep-sea waters are involved. The "unparalleled" technology will allow the farm to "float" in half-dive mode.

The 110-meters wide structure can contain 250,000 cubic meters in volume (equivalent to roughly 200 standard swimming pools), and withstand magnitude 12 earthquakes.

Some 20,000 sensors allow the marine site to achieve complete automation in monitoring and feeding the fish. The farm can mature up to 1.5 million in 14 months or 8,000 tons of fish.

The salmon market accounts for 20 percent of Norway's GDP.

The super fish farm is also equipped with a 360 degree revolving gate for cleaning fish nets and driving fish shoals.

"The revolving gate requires an accurately rotating axis and the precise installation of the framework, which were installed using remote control methods with precision to the millimeter," Yan noted.

Yan said technical transformation and the "Made in China" program are changing the face of China's shipbuilding industry, giving it a competitive advantage and international recognition.

"We have achieved a safety record of 6.2 million error-free work hours and precision control of every part, every welding seam, every pipeline and every valve. That shows the level of upgrade of China's manufacturing and the confidence of customers in China's manufacturing," said Chen Haiyong, Director of the Norway fish farm project.

The fish farm was officially handed over to the Norwegian company at a ceremony on Saturday. The structure will be sea transferred on June 10 to the coast of Norway, in a journey which will take up to six weeks.

#####
​

World's first 'offshore' aquaculture development project receives green light from Norwegian government

The Ocean Farming facility is a new and innovative design, developed to overcome the challenges of more traditional inshore fish farming facilities by being located in deeper waters, further from the coast.

5. April 2016

The Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Fisheries has approved Norway's first development concession enabling Ocean Farming AS, supported by Kongsberg Maritime AS, to build the world's first automated 'exposed' aquaculture facility. Situated outside of Trondheim, this innovative new facility introduces a paradigm shift in salmon farming now, and other fish types in the future and is a significant step in Norway's efforts to deliver technical solutions to address the impending global food gap challenge.


---> World's first 'offshore' aquaculture development project receives green light from Norwegian government - Kongsberg Maritime

It will be nice if project like these also operate in Indonesia, I hope our Kementrian Kelautan dan Perikanan (Ministry of Marine and Fisheries) someday also interested and support this project in Indonesia.

 

[Shotgunner51]

The Dead Sea to Strengthen China's Geopolitical Presence in the Middle East
14:37 07.06.2017(updated 17:37 07.06.2017)

China is a footstep away from winning the tender for Phase 1 of the Middle Eastern 'Red-Dead' water project, launched by Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority. Israeli and Chinese experts have commented to Sputnik on how it could help Beijing to strengthen its presence in the region.

China National Technical Import and Export Corp. has been shortlisted for Phase 1 of the "Red-Dead" water project launched by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority. The other four finalists are Hong Kong's Hutchison Water International Holdings, South Korean Korea Water Resources Corp., Japan-based Mitsubishi Corp. and France’s Suez International SAS. The results of the tender are to be announced by the end of June.

The project has been jointly developed by Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Authority, which all share the shoreline of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River, which runs into this closed lake. The Dead Sea's water level has been dropping at a rate of 1 meter per year. Today the shore lies nearly half a kilometer away, across dry sand.

Known as "Red-Dead", the $1.1 billion infrastructure project is expected to divert 2 billion cubic meters of water from the Red Sea, pipe it into the Dead Sea, stabilizing its level and creating drinking water for a region facing a serious water shortage. Construction is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2018.​

The pipeline will start at Aqaba, the Jordanian port, where a desalination plant will be built. It will run through Jordan, generating hydroelectric power from its final stretch when it plunges several hundred meters below sea level into the Dead Sea, the world’s lowest land elevation.

Freshwater from Aqaba will be bought by Israel’s southern Arava region; Jordan will buy Israeli water from the Sea of Galilee; and the Palestinian Authority will buy water from an Israeli desalination plant as part of a water swap.

"The state-owned Chinese company’s success in reaching the short list for the project’s initial phase could pave the way for other Chinese firms to seek work on the project, especially as Beijing pushes investment and infrastructure to the region and beyond under the massive Belt and Road Initiative," South China Morning Post quoted Israel’s Minister of Regional Cooperation Tzachi Hanegbi as saying on the sidelines of the recent Beijing forum on China’s Belt and Road infrastructure and trade strategy.​

An aerial view photo shows sinkholes created by the drying of the Dead Sea, near Kibbutz Ein Gedi

Bringing Israel and the Palestinians together on a project such as Red-Dead "is probably the basis for gaining trust," Hanegbi said. If the Chinese company wins the contract, it would represent one of the few countries that has maintained good relations with both the Palestinians and Israel amid their decades-old conflict.

Israeli political analyst and publicist David Sharp told Sputnik that no details have been revealed on what advantages the finalists will highlight in order to sidestep the rivals. Thus it is hard to suggest who is going to win.

"Israel usually does not reveal any deep and serious analyses and forecasts ahead of the results of a tender, especially for such a complicated infrastructure project. Thus it is hard to suggest who the real leader is and who is an outsider," he told Sputnik.​

The political analyst said that the Chinese companies have been long present in Israel and have been working on serious projects. There will be no prepossession towards the Chinese companies and their cooperation with Israeli enterprises.

"Israel, in this sense, is neither the US nor Western Europe. I don't think that the Chinese company participating in this tender will be somehow discriminated on the ground of the origin of investments or the fulfilment of contracted works," David Sharp said.​

According to recent data released by Reuters, last year, Chinese investment into Israel jumped more than tenfold to a record $16.5 billion, with money flooding into the country's buzzing internet, cybersecurity and medical device startups.

Such an inflow was caused by the US' reluctance to open its market for China, increased US protectionism and a tougher regulatory stance. In contrast, Chinese bidders scrapped a record $26.3 billion worth of previously announced deals from the United States in 2016, the data show. For Chinese buyers, Israeli assets are not only more easily accessible than in the United States, they are also often cheaper, according to lawyers and bankers.

While making their forecasts for who is going to win the Red-Dead tender, experts note that China has become the largest world importer of Dead Sea cosmetics and Dead Sea mineral products. This opens new opportunities for cooperation of Chinese capital with the Israeli manufacturers of these products.

Chinese corporations, which have bought into Israeli chemical production, are participating in the mining of mineral raw materials for the Dead Sea products. Besides, the Chinese investment giant Fosun Group has purchased Israeli Dead Sea cosmetics company Ahava.

In 2011, China National Chemical Corporation acquired Adama, which produces pesticides, for a price of $2.4 billion and in 2015 the Chinese company Bright Food acquired a controlling stake in Israel's largest producer Tnuva, which is heavily involved in dairy goods.

All the above gives ground to suggest that China National Technical Import and Export Corp. remains the key candidate for the Red-Dead tender. Besides, experts note, there have been almost no losses of Chinese large companies in tenders for large-scale international projects apart from cases when the organizers intentionally leave them out for political reasons.​

Liu Ying, an expert of Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China told Sputnik that China intends to go to the very end in this project and explained why the project and its scale are very attractive to Beijing.

"The project suggests construction of desalination plants and will be a large-scale ground for international cooperation and the sharing of advanced technologies in this sphere," he told Sputnik.​

The fact that the Chinese company has been shortlisted for the tender, he said, means that China has been internationally recognized in the sphere of high technologies. If the Chinese company takes part in this project, it will contribute to the strengthening of cooperation between China, Israel and Palestine. It will open opportunities for cooperation between Chinese companies and the Caspian Sea Littoral States.

All three countries, which share the shoreline of the Dead Sea, the expert said, are key players in the Chinese New Silk Road project. And cooperation with them will contribute to the implementation of the One Belt, One Road initiative.

If the Chinese company wins the tender, it will become China's third largest infrastructural project in Israel, after Red-Med rail project, which will connect the Israeli Red Sea port town of Eilat to the Israeli port of Ashdod on the Mediterranean and the Tel Aviv Light Rail project, a mass transit system, which will include different types of rapid transit including a light rail network (which will run underground in some areas), buses and more.

It will only strengthen China's geopolitical presence in the Middle East and its influence on key regional players, the expert concluded. ​

https://sputniknews.com/world/201706071054397470-china-red-dead-project/

 

[Shotgunner51]

i would honestly listen to my local pothead before i believe anything from Sputnik.

Sputnik quotes exact names and words of interviewees, unlike some political tabloid who like to quote "according to sources". Also, this is a multinational big ticket project, well covered by many media like SCMP and ENR:

Chinese firm shortlisted for Middle East’s ‘Red-Dead’ water project
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/dipl...firm-poised-advance-middle-east-peace-process

Five Global Teams Short-Listed for $1B First Phase of Red-Dead Water Project
http://www.enr.com/articles/41086-f...rst-phase-of-red-dead-water-project?v=preview​