As COVID-19 continues to spread in the Middle East, Chinese builders are staying in the humid and hot Gulf region and the hinterland of the vast desert. Together with our partners in the Middle East, we are working hard to water the flowers of hope for development.
Tall buildings go up, power stations are lit and connected to the grid... As the year draws to a close, the "One Belt And One Road" cooperation project in the Middle East highlights the region with new landmarks and technologies
Protection and persistence
As the main structure of the C02 office building in the P5 section was topped off on November 24, the new central business district in Egypt's capital, contracted by China State Construction Egypt Branch, has achieved initial results. In the future, "the tallest building in Africa" will rise here with a height of 385.8 meters. Egyptians hoped the tower would become a pyramid-like African landmark.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, China State Construction has sent three groups of working groups and medical teams to the project in the central business district of the new capital. Since March this year, the project has been fully closed management, and Chinese and Egyptian employees have joined hands to start the fight against the epidemic. Most people live and eat in the project. From the living area to the construction area, project personnel of each bid section shall wear masks and gloves before entering the bidding area, undergo testing and mild disinfection, and then transfer to the internal vehicle to the specific construction site. After arriving, they shall conduct a second temperature measurement.
The Egyptian staff were moved by the meticulous arrangements. "I feel safer living here than outside," said Ibrahim Hamar, an Egyptian worker.
Jordan's Atalat oil shale power station, located in the vast Gobi desert, will be the largest power station in the country when completed. The project's contractor, China Energy Construction Group Guangdong Thermal Power Engineering Company, is working hard to promote this energy project, which is of great significance to Jordan, while ensuring the health of its employees.
Luo Xiongdong, who is in charge of the project, said the project is progressing at full speed. Unit 1 was successfully fired at the end of August this year and is expected to be delivered in April next year. It is expected to supply about 15% of the country's electricity.
Jordanians for atala shale plant expectations, Jordan university center for strategic studies, a researcher at Mr Ibrahim William gallas to be thorough, "Jordan relies heavily on imported energy, thanks to 'One Belt And One Road, atala abundant oil shale resource to develop projects that Jordan, has important significance to promoting energy independence in Jordan, This project brings tangible benefits and opportunities for the Jordanian people."
Understanding and Giving
"Mom, I picked these flowers for you." At the gate of the Hunutlu power plant project in Adana province, southern Turkey, Tuhana handed fresh flowers to her mother, Didan, with eyes a little wet.
Didan, who works on the ground at the Hunutlu power plant, has not seen her daughter for months since the outbreak of the disease in March. The project has been managed in a closed way, and the strict rule of "no entry, no exit." But Didion and the other earthmen knew that it was harder to have their Chinese colleagues at their posts in a foreign country.
The Hunutlu Power Plant Project is one of the important cooperation projects between China and Turkmenistan since the establishment of diplomatic ties. It is invested and constructed by Shanghai Electric Power Co., Ltd., China State Power Investment Corporation, etc. Despite the epidemic, more than 1,800 Chinese and Turkish employees worked tirelessly to complete the main frame of the No. 1 boiler on July 23, and it is expected to be completed and put into operation in the second half of 2022.
"By staying at the site, you protected your safety and your family's income," Fanger, the project manager, wrote in an open letter to Turkish employees. "When we get out of this situation and look back, one of the best things we will remember is the brotherhood that we held together during the epidemic."
In early August, in order to catch up and ensure the completion of the project on schedule, the contractor, Anhui Power Construction No. 1 Company, sent an additional 455 Chinese employees to Turkey. Some of the "reversers" of the epidemic were new fathers, and some were fresh out of college. The Chinese and Turkish builders worked side by side to minimize the impact of the epidemic on the project.
While keeping up with the project schedule, Chinese builders have attached great importance to protecting the local natural environment. In order to avoid the beach where turtles hatch and lay eggs, the project team optimized the road leading from the beach to the dock into a truss bridge across the beach. Volunteers were organized to clean up the garbage on the beach to provide a better home for turtles to hatch and lay eggs. The move by Chinese builders assuages local concerns about the environmental damage the plant could cause.
Achievements and Rewards
In early December, the latest news of the "One Belt And One Road" project in the Middle East was heard. The Hasyan Clean Coal-fired Power Station Project in Dubai, United Arab Emirates officially entered the commercial operation stage, and Unit 2 has also started commissioning.
Under the epidemic situation, the project contracted by Harbin Electric Group Company (Harbin Electric Group) has made significant progress for many times since this year. No. 1 unit has achieved the first ignition and pipe blowing, and achieved the goal of full load power generation with natural gas and full load power generation with coal. This is the first power station project invested, built and operated by a Chinese enterprise in the Middle East region under the framework of "One Belt And One Road". When completed, it will be the first clean coal-fired power station in the Middle East region. When put into operation, it will provide 20 percent of the electricity in the Dubai region, which will significantly reduce electricity costs for local residents.
Garbash Hasim, executive director and general manager of Hasyan Energy Company, said that the first successful connection of Unit 1 of the Hasyan Power Plant Phase I project was achieved by Harbin Electric Group in the face of various difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic. "Our Chinese partners led all of us to achieve this remarkable achievement."
There is also encouraging news from neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
The first hi-tech project of "One Belt And One Road" China-Saudi Arabia production capacity cooperation -- SABIC Saudi Manufacturing Base Project for Plastic New Materials and Electronic Optics (SABIC Saudi Project) was launched on November 18 in Jubal, Saudi Arabia. This is a key project of China-Saudi Arabia cooperation in the context of the synergy between the "One Belt And One Road" initiative and Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030".
The project on the basis of Saudi oil refining product resources, development and production of aviation, automobile and other specific industry needs the plastic parts, and form a complete set of research and development and production of semiconductor LED light source, AI control module, intelligent electrical appliances and intelligent household products, such as to fill the blank of the part in the field of the two sides at the top of the new material, the project is expected to total investment of about $892 million, After completion, the annual output value will be about 2.209 billion US dollars and about 10,000 jobs will be created.
Currently, under the framework of production capacity cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia, one production capacity project has been implemented, 10 projects are planned to be implemented and more than 40 projects are under discussion.
"Africa's tallest building", the first clean coal-fired power station, high-tech industrial park... Each of these projects is of great significance to the economic and social development of the Middle East. People in the Middle East have every reason to believe that solidarity and cooperation between China and countries in the region will bring more hope amid the gloom of the epidemic.
