CTCE Helps Boost Links Among Cities in Angola

CTCE employees carry out construction work on a highway project in Angola. [Provided to China Daily]

A 76-kilometer highway built by China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group (CTCE) crossing the northern mountainous area in Angola was fully connected on Saturday, benefiting some 100,000 people in two cities and boosting the local economy.

The Uige Province infrastructure reconstruction project, completed by CTCE First Engineering Co Ltd, starts at Quitexe and ends at Ambuila, with work done on roadbeds, culverts, bridges and ancillary facilities.

Building the highway started in early 2017, providing jobs to 193 locals, promoting the economic development of Angola's border area, and deepening economic ties between China and Angola, said Duan Shiqi, head of the project from State-owned CTCE.

"The highway is part of the projects in the Belt and Road, which is being continuously expanded around the world with far-reaching influence," he said, adding the project is a win-win undertaking with mutual benefits for both sides.

Dubbed a "Road of Friendship" by locals, the highway is an important artery linking the urban areas of Ambuila and Quitexe, dotted with dozens of villages of various sizes along the way as well as some firewood factories and farms, said Antonio Rosario Alex Mutunda, vice-governor of Uige Province.

"The completion of the highway brings convenient transportation to the two cities and the numerous beneficiaries along the route, thus promoting their economic exchanges with the outside world," he noted.

Duan said when the project started, they put safety and quality of the highway as a top priority, allocating resources in the area and strengthening their technical expertise.

By incorporating Chinese standards and specifications with the locally adopted southern African road and bridge specifications and standards, the project department strengthened its inspection of raw materials, construction techniques and quality checks, he said.

"We must provide a high-quality project, and safety is a paramount task," Duan said, noting that no safety incidents occurred related to the project.

During construction work, CTCE staff members also initiated cultural exchanges with various regions in a bid to provide jobs for the Angolan people, said project staffer Zhang Jiaqian. At busy times, there were 40 Chinese employees and 193 local employees building the highway, he said.

As the COVID-19 pandemic struck, CTCE provided the best support it could. The project department tried every means to reserve daily necessities and anti-pandemic materials for its staff, guaranteeing the highway's orderly construction.

The full completion of the project helped to end a history of non-graded roads linking Quitexe and Ambuila, playing a key role in boosting the flow of agricultural products from the region and leading to the expansion of its wood processing industry, Zhang said.

Currently, there are 12 ongoing construction projects undertaken by CTCE in Angola, covering housing, municipal projects, bridges and highways, and water plants, Duan said, while adding CTCE First Engineering is building seven of them.

Established in November 1950 and now with some 23,360 staff members, CTCE is part of China Railway Group Ltd, a centrally administrated State-owned enterprise.

At present, CTCE operates in nearly 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China. They have also ventured into nearly 20 countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Panama, Bangladesh and Costa Rica, said Han Xinliang, a publicity official with CTCE.

CTCE's business operations reached a value of 209.6 billion yuan ($33.1 billion) in 2020, with a revenue of 113 billion yuan, Han said. Between 2016 and 2020, the company logged 747.5 billion yuan in business and recorded a revenue of 404.8 billion yuan.