"The economy here has ushered in rapid development" (co construction of the "the Belt and Road", the first site) Uzbekistan | Industrial Park | Economy

The ceramic tile assembly line of Pengsheng Industrial Park.

In the precision workshop of Pengsheng Industrial Park Bathroom Factory, workers are processing parts.

The above pictures were all taken by our reporter Xing Xue

Starting from Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, driving on the national road leading to Syr Darya Oblast, the sun outside the window is warm and the aroma of sand dates is fragrant. About an hour later, the reporter arrived at Pengsheng Industrial Park located in Xi'er River Prefecture. Over the past 10 years, Pengsheng Industrial Park has made positive contributions to promoting local economic and social development.

Creating employment opportunities——

More and more locals no longer have to go out to work

Pengsheng Industrial Park mainly produces lifestyle products such as tiles, faucets, mobile phones, leather, shoes, etc. It is not only one of China's largest private non resource investment projects in Uzbekistan, but also a national level overseas economic and trade cooperation zone. In recent years, Pengsheng Industrial Park has been a major taxpayer in Xi'er River Prefecture, generating 40% to 50% of the local foreign exchange income and making significant contributions to expanding the local industrial chain and promoting employment.

Entering Pengsheng Industrial Park Bathroom Factory, three production lines came into view. Workers were cleaning, testing, packaging, and packing the bathroom components on the production lines. Boxes of finished bathroom components are ready to be shipped and will be sold to countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan.

Uzbekistan's copper reserves and mining output are in the forefront of the world, and copper is the main material required for the production of sanitary products such as faucets. In order to better utilize the resource advantages of Uzbekistan, Pengsheng Industrial Park jointly built a bathroom factory with Uzbekistan Almarek Mining and Metallurgy Company in 2013. It was officially put into operation in 2014 and imported mature technology and large-scale machine tools from China. After more than 20 processes such as galvanizing, processing, and assembly, copper produced locally has become a shiny and brand new bathroom component.

It is reported that the bathroom factory can produce 2 million faucets, 5 million valves, and 200000 water dividers annually, making it the only enterprise in Central Asia with a full industry chain of bathroom products. The bathroom factory has jointly established a national laboratory for faucet bathroom products with the Uzbekistan National Bureau of Standards, participating in the formulation of Uzbekistan's national industry standards.

Since the establishment of Pengsheng Industrial Park, more and more locals no longer need to go out to work, and can find jobs at their doorstep, allowing their families to live a stable life. "As long as we work hard, everyone's future will definitely become brighter." Zhuang Liqing, Deputy General Manager of Pengsheng Industrial Park, always encourages local employees and stimulates their enthusiasm for building their hometown.

With the vigorous development of industrial parks, a group of skilled workers have gradually matured. Since 2015, the industrial park has regularly organized local outstanding employees to go to China for further education. Currently, more than 400 people have completed training in China. Faya, the workshop director of the leather factory in the industrial park, went to China for further education as an outstanding employee representative in 2016. When I first started working at a leather factory 10 years ago, I had no skills and could only do simple work. I had never seen these large equipment in the factory before. Later, my Chinese colleagues taught me management experience and even taught me how to use computers. Now, Faya has grown from an ordinary worker to a workshop director who manages more than 300 employees and has been named an excellent employee for several years.

Introduction of agricultural technology——

Provide more ways for local farmers to lift themselves out of poverty and increase their income

The Xi'er River Prefecture where Pengsheng Industrial Park is located has a large agricultural population and relatively backward economy. Before the construction of the industrial park, local farmers were basically relying on the weather for their livelihoods. How to promote agricultural modernization has been the main expectation of the local area for many years.

After learning that Ukraine intends to introduce advanced agricultural technology from China, Ji Qiuhai, the chairman of Pengsheng Industrial Park, immediately took action with the Chinese personnel of the industrial park, seeking experts and purchasing equipment. Accompanied by the rumbling sound of agricultural machinery, patches of plastic film and drip irrigation belts slowly spread out on the fields of Xi'er River State. 160 hectares of cotton, over 2000 acres of grapes, 12 modern greenhouses, sunflowers, potatoes, strawberries, corn, peanuts... Hope seeds take root and sprout in the newly opened agricultural park.

Mu Min, the person in charge of the Ukrainian side of the agricultural park, had a smile on his face. "Before the establishment of the industrial park, it used to be a wasteland. Now, with factories, high-quality farmland, and even parks, the local people's income has also increased. The arrival of the industrial park is attracting more foreign enterprises to invest and develop, and the economy here is experiencing rapid development."

"The cotton yield in the experimental field is twice that of traditional planting methods!" Mu Min said, "China's drip irrigation technology greatly saves labor. Previously, 30 people needed to plant land, but now only 3-4 people can complete it. The harvest is also better than before, providing more ways for local farmers to lift themselves out of poverty and increase their income."

Fulfilling social responsibilities——

Ukraine China Friendship Park has become a great place for nearby residents to exercise

"Chinese people are friendly and sincere, and their relationship with us is very good." Mu Min pointed to the large park in front of him and told reporters, "Now every holiday, we come here to celebrate."

The park mentioned by Mumin is the Ukraine China Friendship Park, named by Uzbekistan President Mirziyoyev. In the past, local people did not have decent leisure and entertainment venues. In 2017, Pengsheng Industrial Park invested in the construction of the Ukraine China Friendship Park with complete supporting facilities. The park has standard football fields, professional plastic tracks, and complete fitness equipment, providing a venue for young people to play football and a place for nearby residents to exercise.

While helping the local economy develop, the industrial park actively fulfills its social responsibility and established the Pengsheng Charity Foundation in 2011. Up to now, it has donated over 4 million US dollars to various sectors of society. During this year's local traditional festival, the Nawuluzi Festival, the celebration activities in Xierhe Prefecture were held at the Wuzhong Friendship Park. Yang Changbian, the head of the newly opened milk tea shop in Pengsheng Industrial Park, led his employees to hold a milk tea charity sale. The total daily sales of milk tea amounted to 700 US dollars, all of which were donated to the local welfare institution.

The local media praised Pengsheng Industrial Park for creating employment opportunities and actively fulfilling social responsibilities, believing that the industrial park has made important contributions to Uzbekistan's economic transformation and social development.

"Working in Chinese enterprises, I have learned advanced enterprise management experience." Karphol, the deputy general manager of Pengsheng Industrial Park in Uzbekistan, gave a thumbs up and said, "The initiative of jointly building the the Belt and Road proposed by China has promoted connectivity between countries and regions, and benefited the people of countries and regions along the line. Pengsheng Industrial Park is one of the representative projects focusing on long-term development."