CRBC: Africa Constructor

By staff reporter HOU RUILI

All types of heavy-duty vehicles bound for different inland countries travel Highway A109 that connects Mombasa, East Africa’s largest harbor, and Nairobi, capital of Kenya. The superlative quality of this project has guaranteed a transport capacity far surpassing that of the original design level. The landscape constructions on either side of the road are also engineering works of art. The Kenyan government has issued a stamp highlighting this superb highway, known as the China Road, and the friendship between China and Kenya.

In response to China’s policy since the 1960s of aid to Africa, the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has been committed to building infrastructure there, such as roads, bridges, tunnels, ports, and wharves. At present, CRBC has offices in 25 African countries where 98 projects are in progress. In addition to improving local residents’ lives, some, such as the China Road in Kenya and the Friendship Harbor in Mauritania – hailed as symbols of national independence and models of South-South cooperation – have exerted far-reaching influence on the continent’s social and economic development.

Ren Yushan teaches local employees machinery maintenance.

Leading Engineering Technology

On May 11, 2014, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta attended the signing ceremony of the China-Kenya co-financing agreement on the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway Project, involving US $3.804 billion. This, Kenya’s longest ever railway, began construction in October 2014, and will be built entirely according to Chinese standards, according to CRBC president Wen Gang. When completed, it will cut the travel time between the two cities from more than 10 hours to four hours.

Among highway constructions in Africa, Chinese-built roads stand out by virtue of their high quality and safe design and construction. In the 1970s China built the first-stage Bata-Niefang Road in Equatorial Guinea as an aid project. Owing to constrained construction conditions at that time, however, the standard of building was not high, particularly in view of the road’s many sharp turns and long, steep slopes. The country’s rapid economic growth in recent years brought with it a surge in transport demands, and hence the urgent need to modify and optimize this road. CRBC presented to the government of Equatorial Guinea an optimal design plan, and contracted to reconstruct and extend the road. CRBC spent one year and eight months widening it from seven meters to 11 meters and ameliorating its 20 dangerous bends. The project was completed in August 2013.

“In all my years as a truck driver I think the stretch of renovated road from Bata to Niefang is the best there is. It has shortened the journey, and there are fewer sharp turns. Before I would often see traffic accidents along this road but now I have no worries about making round trips along it,” said 52-year-old driver Constantino Okua.

China has constantly focused on infrastructure construction since enacting its reform and opening-up policy of 1978. Thanks to practices in domestic construction, the country has made steady technological improvements and innovations to infrastructure.

“In the field of bridge technology, such as the newest suspension and cable-stayed bridges, those of the best quality are almost all in China. And Chinese high-grade highways are of a standard similar to those in the U.S.,” Wen Gang said. “Various practices have cultivated a large amount of talent. At present, China leads the world in infrastructure construction, including airports, harbors, highways, and railways. Moreover, among the wave of Chinese enterprises going global, infrastructure companies are the most successful. They have played an important role in China’s economic development and bilateral trade and economic contacts, as well as promoting diplomatic relations.”