Belt and Road projects: Past, present, future

BEIJING, April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily:

China's Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by President Xi Jinping nearly six years ago, has made practical progress, with 125 countries and 29 international organizations having signed 173 cooperation agreements under the initiative framework as of March 27.

Under the initiative's five cooperation priorities of policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bond, there are a batch of projects, such as transportation construction and industrial infrastructure, in full swing or already having yielded fruitful results.

Here are some of the amazing projects achieved worldwide under the initiative.

Bridge:

Temburong Bridge, Brunei

The Temburong Bridge, the largest infrastructure project in Brunei's history, will become the country's longest sea-crossing bridge with a total length of about 30 km. It is scheduled to open to traffic by the end of November 2019.

The CC4 section of the bridge is constructed by China State Construction Engineering Corp. At around 11.6 km of the 11.8 km-long section will be a land viaduct traversing the mangrove swamp of the Labu Forest Reserve, the company has established a set of strict safety and green construction evaluation systems to meet the high demand for environmental protection and cope with unprecedented difficulty in construction.

Peljesac Bridge, Croatia

One of the biggest infrastructure projects in Croatia's history, the Peljesac Bridge is designed to link the mainland of Croatia with its southernmost Dubrovnik-Neretva county.

A Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation won the bid for the first phase of the Peljesac Bridge and its access roads in January 2018.

The project, whose estimated value is over 400 million euros ($485 million), will be partially sponsored by European Union funds. Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said in April the 2.4-km-long and 55-meter-high bridge is highly rated by the Croatian people.

Industrial projects

Punta Sierra wind farm, Chile

With 32 turbines by the blue sea, the Punta Sierra wind farm has been in operation since Feb 4, 2018.

It is the first Pacific Hydro wind farm in Chile and the first wind farm invested in by China in the South American country.

The $150 million project, financed and constructed by China State Power Investment Corporation, has an installed capacity of 82 MW and will generate about 282 GWh/year, which can meet electricity demands for 130,000 households and reduce carbon emissions by 157,000 tons per year.

Yamal LNG project, Russia

Located in Russia's Yamal Peninsula in the Arctic, the Yamal liquefied natural gas project reached full production capacity with its three production lines, each of which has a capacity of 5.5 million tons per year, with operations starting in December 2017, August 2018 and December 2018, successively.

The project is the world's largest of its kind within the Arctic Circle and is also the first mega- energy cooperation project implemented in Russia after the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed.

It is owned by Russia's Novatek (50.1 percent), France's Total (20 percent), China National Petroleum Corporation (20 percent) and China's Silk Road Fund (9.9 percent).

Isimba hydropower station, Uganda

Construction on the Isimba hydropower station in Uganda was completed on March 21. The project cost $566 million, with the Export-Import Bank of China proving 85 percent of the financing support.

Built by China International Water & Electric Corp, the hydropower station is the third largest power station in Uganda, increasing the country's power generation capacity from 984 MW to 1167 MW.

During the construction of the hydropower station, 70 percent of the building materials required for the project were procured locally in Uganda.

Industrial park projects

China-Belarus Industrial Park, Belarus

The China-Belarus Industrial Park, located 25 km from Minsk and covering an area of 91.5 square kilometers, is the first special economic area in Belarus and the largest intergovernmental cooperation project between China and Belarus.

The industrial park is stepping up efforts to attract more global investors, with 43 companies registered by the end of February.

Among the 43 companies, 26 are from China, 10 from Belarus, and seven from other countries, like the United States and Russia. The companies have signed agreements to make total investments of more than $1 billion in the park.

Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone

China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone

The China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, located in the Ain Sokhna district of the Suez province east of Cairo, has become a landmark project for China and Egypt's cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

The zone, officially starting construction over a decade ago, is operated by China-Africa TEDA Investment Co Ltd. It has attracted nearly 80 enterprises with investment of more than $1 billion, directly offered jobs to over 3,500 people and created 30,000 job opportunities through the industries gathered there.

In January 2016 the second phase of the zone, which covers an area of 6 square kilometers, was inaugurated. As of February infrastructure construction for 2 square km of the second phase has finished, and that eight industry-leading enterprises are already onboard with an investment of $200 million.

International Free Trade Zone

Djibouti International Djibouti

The China-funded Djibouti International Free Trade Zone, which started construction in January 2017, opened on July 5, 2018.

Covering an area of 48.2 sq km, the zone is operated by a joint venture with investment by Chinese enterprises, including China Merchants Holdings and Dalian Port Corp Ltd, as well as the Djibouti Ports and Free Zone Authority.

More than 20 enterprises from the commerce, logistic, processing sectors have signed letters of intent to register with the FTZ, as infrastructure in the first phrase of the FTZ, which covers an area of 6 sq km, has been basically completed.

The FTZ is expected to become a crucial junction linking other African countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, and make Djibouti, the small northeast African country, a marine logistics hub linking Africa, Asia and Europe.

Wang Zhuoqiong, Liu Kun, Zhou Lihua, Jiang Xueqing, Zhong Nan, Xinhua News Agency and People's Daily contributed to this story.

SOURCE China Daily