Liu Haijun (2nd L), president of China's Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC), hands a school bag to a student during a donation ceremony in Basra, Iraq, Feb. 28, 2019. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
BASRA, Iraq, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation (CPECC) on Thursday donated equipment to the directorate of education in Iraq's southern province of Basra, as part of its support to local students.
In a ceremony held in Basra city, CPECC President Liu Haijun said that "we hope this modest initiative by the CPECC will contribute to supporting the education sector in the province of Basra."
"We have made clear achievements in providing job opportunities for Iraqi people, developing relations with local companies and focusing on providing skills and technology transfer through establishment of an international training center," Liu added.
The 460,000-U.S. dollar donation by CPECC included 5,440 desks, 250 printers, 10 teaching TVs, 1,000 whiteboards and 200 school bags.
Liu confirmed in the ceremony that the Chinese company "has been actively involved in humanitarian activities and assistance."
He said that the company "had already provided support for two schools worth 100,000 dollars, provided assistance for Basra University with up to 100,000 dollars and sent 10 students for training in China."
Liu added that he is looking forward to a better future in Iraq, and expressed his hope for the development of Iraqi-Chinese relations in a way that may serve the interests of the two peoples.
Ali Hamad, assistant director general of Basra's Education Directorate, said in his speech during the ceremony that "although the company's main business is the oil sector, it is well done by the CPECC to donate in support for the sector of education, which is taking a major role in developing the local community."
"We thank the Chinese company for this initiative to donate some important equipment that Basra's education directorate needs to provide service to Basra's students," Hamad added.
He also called for development of cultural relations between the education sector of Basra and the Chinese company.
"We need materials and equipment, and we need more cultural exchanges. You can learn the Arabic language, and we learn Chinese," Hamad added.
The education sector in Basra is suffering from a severe shortage of school buildings, especially in the towns outside Basra and in the marshes, where many students are still learning in school buildings built of clay and sitting on the ground because of the lack of desks.
Despite the fact that Iraq's oil exports are mainly from Basra's oilfields, the oil-hub province suffers from a severe shortage in public services, such as water and electricity.
It also suffers from deterioration in the health and education sectors as well as high unemployment rate among its population.
On Wednesday, CPECC signed with Iraq's Basra Gas Company (BGC) a contract for constructing a natural gas liquids (NGL) plant in Ar-Ratawi area west of Basra, which is scheduled to complete by the end of 2020.
The new project will help the BGC increase current gas production capacity by 40 percent, and will also reduce gas flaring as well as increase dry gas supply and NGL export capabilities.
In Iraq, the associated oil gas is currently being burned, resulting in the loss of millions of dollars in Iraq as well as the negative impact on the environment.
Such NGL plant is expected to bring financial benefits to Iraq and use the gas to fuel power stations to generate electricity.
A single purchase
