China Africa Joins Hands to Promote Sustainable Infrastructure Cooperation and Upgrade Communication | Africa | Infrastructure

Changsha, July 3 (Xinhua) - China and Africa Jointly Promote Sustainable Upgrading of Infrastructure Cooperation

Xinhua News Agency reporter

The 3rd China Africa Economic and Trade Expo was held in Changsha, Hunan from June 29th to July 2nd. At the "the Belt and Road" achievement exhibition of high-quality joint construction between China and Africa, General Technology Group's digital communication energy solutions sand table showed that China and Africa will organically combine "communication" and "green energy" in infrastructure cooperation, attracting many visitors to stop and understand.

In the context of the new era, infrastructure cooperation between China and Africa not only deepens in traditional fields, but also focuses on helping African countries achieve sustainable economic and social development and enhance their independent development capabilities.

On June 29, at the Changsha International Convention and Exhibition Center, guests visited the high-quality "the Belt and Road" achievement exhibition jointly built by China and Africa. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Yehua

Clean energy cooperation is gaining momentum

Energy shortage is a common problem faced by African countries. Although Africa has abundant renewable resources such as hydropower, solar energy, and wind energy, the current development ratio is very low, and most of the energy still comes from biomass and fossil fuels.

In recent years, China has attached great importance to strengthening clean energy cooperation with Africa and has become one of the main partners in clean energy development in Africa. The EPC project of the 46 MW Biomass Power Plant in Cote d'Ivoire, undertaken by China Energy Construction Group, is one of the vivid examples of China Africa clean energy cooperation.

Zhu Honggang, Executive General Manager of China Energy Construction Northwest Africa Regional Headquarters, introduced that this project started construction in December 2022 and will become the largest biomass power plant in West Africa after completion.

He said that the fuel for the project is palm leaf straw, which is widely planted in the local area. It can bring 348 gigawatt hours of clean electricity to C ô te d'Ivoire every year, solving the electricity problem for 1.7 million people. This project can benefit 12000 palm growers, increase their income by 20%, and reduce 180000 tons of carbon dioxide annually.

In addition, China is utilizing its technological advantages in clean energy to help African countries increase their supply of renewable energy. Chinese companies have undertaken a series of hydropower projects in Africa, effectively utilizing the abundant hydraulic resources of African countries. The cooperation between Chinese enterprises and African countries in the field of renewable energy generation has also made significant progress. At the same time, China actively participates in power transmission and transformation projects in African countries to assist in the construction of local power grids.

This is a large-scale photovoltaic power station invested and constructed by a Chinese enterprise, filmed near the capital city of Ghana, Accra, on April 13, 2016. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lin Xiaowei

To become rich, first build the road

Infrastructure is an important support for economic and social development, and an important area for the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road". Since the "the Belt and Road" initiative was put forward ten years ago, Chinese enterprises have signed more than 700 billion US dollars in new contract projects in Africa, and completed more than 400 billion US dollars in turnover. The bilateral infrastructure cooperation has made solid and impressive achievements.

General Technology Group's digital communication energy solution sandbox is one of the contents selected for the China Africa high-quality "the Belt and Road" achievement exhibition. The prototype of the sandbox project is the Ghana Rural Communication and Digital Network Coverage Project, in which General Technology Group is involved in Africa.

This project aims to design, procure, construct, and operate 2016 communication towers to meet the communication needs of local rural residents, helping the country achieve its goals of promoting economic development and traditional industry transformation and upgrading through the construction of the information and communication industry, benefiting over 3 million people in the Cananon village area.

Luo Di, Deputy Director of the Office of General Technology Group International, stated that there is a solid foundation for infrastructure cooperation between China and Africa. "If you want to become rich, first build roads." Currently, bilateral cooperation has expanded from visible road traffic to digital network communication in the field.

Driven by cooperation mechanisms such as the Forum on China Africa Cooperation and the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", Africa's infrastructure construction has undergone earth shaking changes. Nowadays, China Africa cooperation has built over 10000 kilometers of railways, nearly 100000 kilometers of roads, nearly a thousand bridges, and nearly a hundred ports, with network services covering nearly 700 million user terminals.

Co development of "dual teaching of fish and fishery"

China actively promotes infrastructure construction and socio-economic development in Africa, while also participating in the development of local talent education, promoting the transformation of African population resources into population dividends, emphasizing the "dual education of fish and fishery", and promoting the enhancement of African countries' independent development capabilities.

Seg Engangua, the country representative of China Electric Power Construction Cameroon, is one of the witnesses and beneficiaries of high-quality development of infrastructure cooperation between China and Africa. Seg, who obtained his doctoral degree in China in 2010, officially joined Sinohydro and was sent to the Cameroon representative office in November of that year to participate in the Manville hydropower project. In February 2015, SEG was promoted to the position of Chief Representative of China Electric Power Construction Cameroon Representative Office.

Seg stated that China's infrastructure construction in Africa is of positive significance for the economic and social development of African countries, and also helps to solve employment problems, reduce poverty, and promote social stability.

Through project construction, the Chinese side has cultivated a group of Cameroonian local hydropower talents who understand technology and can operate like SEG.

On March 24th, in the southern province of Zambia, Zambian employees of China Electric Power Construction Group Co., Ltd. attended the power generation ceremony of Unit 5 of the Kaifuxia Hydropower Station. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Peng Lijun

Wang Xiaojun, Deputy General Manager of China Electric Power Construction Group Co., Ltd., recently stated at the China Africa Infrastructure Cooperation Forum that during the construction of the Lower Kaifu Gorge Hydropower Station in Zambia, China Electric Power Construction invested in the construction of the China Hydropower Training Institute in Zambia. As of now, it has trained 332 young people in the infrastructure field for Zambia, setting a precedent for Chinese enterprises to run schools in Africa.

The Chinese government's Special Representative for African Affairs, Liu Yuxi, recently stated in an interview with Xinhua News Agency that accelerating economic recovery, achieving sustainable development, and benefiting the people are common concerns of China and Africa. Both sides can deepen their traditional advantages in infrastructure, production and manufacturing, while also making efforts to cooperate in areas such as medicine and health, green economy, and green development, so as to better connect the economic and industrial structures of both sides and make practical cooperation between China and Africa more dynamic and resilient.