Agreement signed for development of Chinese industrial zone in Bangladesh -- Bangladesh Economic Zone Authority (BEZA) and China Harbor Engineering Company (CHEC) signed an agreement of shareholders for development of Chinese economic and industrial zone in southeastern Bangladesh on June 16. Under the agreement signed by BEZA Executive Chairman Paban Chowdhury and CHEC Vice President Xiong Shengquan, the Chinese company will develop the economic and industrial zone dedicated for Chinese investors at Anwara on the outskirts of Bangladesh's seaport city Chittagong, some 242 km southeast of the capital Dhaka. Earlier, BEZA and CHEC signed a memorandum of understanding in this connection.
AIIB approves 1st equity investment, 2 loans for infrastructure projects -- The China-initiated Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) on June 15 approved its first equity investment and two loans totaling 324 million U.S. dollars. The AIIB's board of directors approved the bank's first equity investment of US$150 million dollars that will be used to help attract the much needed private investment capital for infrastructure projects in India, according to the press release by the AIIB. The two loans of US$174 million will support transport and power projects in Georgia and Tajikistan. "Approving our first equity investment is another milestone for the Bank and will enhance our potential to source and fund high quality, private sector projects," said D.J. Pandian, vice president and chief investment officer of the AIIB.
Freight train route links Vietnam, southwest China -- A cargo train heading for Vietnam left Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province on June 12, an opening of a new route. The train will travel 854 kilometers in four to six days to the port city of Hai Phong, carrying mainly ore and raw materials for the chemical industry in 32 containers, according to the Jinlai Shunfa international logistics company. The service is currently weekly, and is expected to become daily when the supply of goods becomes more regular.
New passenger train route connects China, Kazakhstan -- A new passenger train route was launched on June 8 connecting China and Kazakhstan, the second between the two countries. A 198-seat train numbered 9001 left Horgos, a border port in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in northwest China, on morning of June 8. Departing from the regional capital Urumqi, the train number will change to 701 after entering Kazakhstan, where it will operate via a local train. The train's destination is Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, via stations in Almaty, Sary Shagan and Karaganda. It is the second passenger train route following one that travels via the Alataw Pass in Xinjiang.
Nepali gov't and Chinese company sign MoU to develop hydropower project -- The Nepali government and China's Gezhouba Group Co. Ltd (CGGC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on June 4 on development of the 1200 MW Budhigandaki Hydroelectric Project, one of the highly prioritized projects in Nepal. The MoU was signed to develop the project under the engineering, procurement, construction, and finance (EPCF) model, after Nepal's cabinet decided to award the contract for developing the project to the Chinese company on May 23. Under this modality, the Chinese company will coordinate all design, procurement, construction work and finance and also ensures that the whole project is completed as required and in time. According to the MoU, the Chinese company will execute the project under EPCF modality under the agreed contract arrangement once the financial requirement is acquired.
Pakistan to start Gwadar airport construction in 3 months – Pakistan has accelerated works of the Gwadar airport project after Chinese government approved aid for the project and the construction world, local newspaper The Nation quoted a Pakistan official as saying. The report said the airport project, 14 kilometers away from Gwadar city, will need 230 million U.S. dollars of investment. Chinese government agreed to provide financing for construction of the project and approved the funds during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit to China in May. The project is expected to be completed in three years. China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) will turn Gwadar into a regional economic center. The Gwadar international airport is an important part of the CPEC’s short-term development plan, aiming at attracting investors and tourists.
Djibouti’s Doraleh Port completes first phase construction -- After 30 months of construction, the first phase of Doraleh Multi-Pourpose Port in Djibouti has been completed and put into operation. The project is funded by the joint-venture established by Djibouti Ports and Free Zones Authority (DPFZA) and China Merchants Holdings (International) Company Limited, Djibouti Port Company Limited. It was constructed by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) and China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC). With designed annual cargo handling capacity at 7.08 million tonnes and annual container throughput at 200,000 TEU, the first phase of the port can provide berthing facilities for a range of different vessels with various cargo.
Chinese firm building 55-mln-USD irrigation project in Ethiopia -- A 3,000-hectare irrigation project built by China's Jiangxi Water and Hydropower Construction is expected to be commissioned in October, an Ethiopian official said on June 16. The statement by Bizuneh Tolcha, Director of Public Relations and Communications Directorate at the Ethiopian Ministry of Water, Irrigation and Energy (MoWIE), said the project costs 55 million U.S. dollars. "The project is funded jointly by the World Bank and the Ethiopian government with so far 55 percent completion rate," said Tolcha. "Our ministry has so far built several medium and large-scale irrigation projects amounting to 450,726 hectares out of 5.3 million hectares of irrigable land Ethiopia has," he added.
Chinese company signs deal to build Bangladesh's dual-gauge railway line -- A leading Chinese company has signed an agreement to lay a dual-gauge track on the capital Dhaka-adjacent Narayanganj district route to increase Bangladesh Railway's capacity nearly fourfold. Power Construction Corporation of China Limited signed the construction contract with the Bangladeshi government on June 19 in the capital Dhaka. The Bangladeshi government in January 2015 gave the final go-ahead to the project of about a rail link from Dhaka to Narayanganj district, about 20 km away from the capital. Construction is scheduled to be completed by June 2019.
China's largest power project in Russia put into operation -- A 483-MW gas-steam combined heat and power (CHP) plant built by a China-Russia joint venture has been officially brought online, China's Huadian Corporation announced in Yaroslavl on June 20. The CHP is the tangible result of the Huadian-Teninskaya joint project, which was launched by China Huadian Hong Kong Co., Ltd. and Russia's second regional power company TGC-2 in 2011, with a total investment of 571 million U.S. dollars. As China's largest electricity project in Russia, the project was designed to generate 3.02 billion KWH of electric energy and 814,000 Giga of heating supply annually.
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