China-built railway in southern Sri Lanka starts track-laying -- The track-laying commencement of the first phase of the China-built Matara-Kataragama railway extension project has been held in Matara in southern Sri Lanka. The first phase of the project includes constructing a railway service from Matara to Beliatta, in the south of the island country. Sri Lankan State Minister for State Enterprise Development Lakshman Yapa Abeywardena said during the ceremony on January 12 that the Sri Lankan government was hoping to finish the first phase of the railway project in the coming months, which will benefit the public and tourists.
Chinese firms to start building sub-sea pipeline installation in Nigeria -- Two leading Chinese companies held a groundbreaking ceremony on Jan. 12 to start the construction of a sub-sea pipeline installation for Dangote Oil Refining Company Limited in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub. The pipeline project is part of Dangote's 17 billion U.S. dollars gas pipeline, fertilizer, petrochemicals and refinery projects. The work-scope includes transportation and installation of nine sub-sea pipelines with a total length of 100 kilometers in water depths of up to 40 meters. Of the pipelines, six are 24-inch diameter and three are 48-inch.
Pakistan to launch Islamabad-Gwadar flights as part of CPEC project -- Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) will soon start direct flights from Islamabad to Gwadar as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) makes its impact felt in the tourism sector, local media reported on Jan. 12. PIA Chief Executive Officer Musharraf Rasool Cyan told reporters that the airline would "connect Islamabad and Gwadar by the end of this year", adding that "being the national carrier, we feel the responsibility for improving connectivity throughout Pakistan." The Gwadar port, a project under the CPEC, has seen steady progress and is set become an economic and tourism hub of Pakistan. PIA authorities are eyeing to take maximum advantage out of the project, according to one senior analyst.
Chinese consortium wins bid for Croatia's Peljesac bridge construction -- A Chinese consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) has won the bid for the construction of the first phase of Peljesac bridge and its access roads, a major infrastructure project in Croatian history, local road operator Harvatske Ceste (Croatian Roads) announced on Jan. 12. "Of the three bids submitted for the award of a public procurement contract, the bidding community was selected -- China Road and Bridge Corporation, CCCC Highway Consultants, CCCC Second Highway Engineering and CCCC Second Harbor Engineering with a bid price of 2.08 billion kuna (around 340 million U.S. dollars) without VAT and the construction period of 36 months," Croatian Roads said. The project of the over-2,000-meter-long cable-stayed bridge, whose estimated value is over 400 million euros (485 million U.S. dollars) and will be partially sponsored by European Union fund, was opened for bidding in September 2017.
China-funded drug rehab center breaks ground in southern Philippines -- Officials from China and the Philippines formally broke ground on Jan. 18 on the construction of a Chinese-financed 150-bed drug rehabilitation center in southern Philippines' Sarangani province. The facility, called Dangerous Drug Abuse Treatment and Rehabilitation Center, is located in Sarangani as the first Chinese grant aid construction in the Philippines. "The completion of this project will provide two modern and scientific drug rehabilitation centers that will provide the Philippines with a comfortable treatment environment for the patients," a Chinese embassy statement said. A similar drug treatment facility will also be built in Agusan del Sur province, also in the southern Philippines, in the coming months.
Egypt, Ethiopia FMs meet over dam-building dispute -- The Egyptian and Ethiopian foreign ministers discussed here on Jan. 17 the negotiations on Ethiopia's dam building on the shared Nile River, Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "Convening the committee at the presidential level will be a positive message for the public opinion in both countries," Egyptian Foreign Ministry's spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said in the statement. Ethiopia started the project of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in April 2011. Previous tripartite meetings of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan on the GERD were fruitless, as Ethiopia and Sudan expect massive benefits from the dam construction while Egypt sees it as a threat to its share of the Nile River water.
China-Kyrgyz-Uzbek railway route to be finalized in April -- The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway route will be determined in April 2018, participants at tripartite talks decided in Tashkent in late December, The Times of Central Asia, a Kyrgyzstan-based outlet, reported on Jan. 13. The meeting discussed the timing of the project, sources of financing and the development of its feasibility study. According to reports, Kyrgyzstan has suggested that the 5 billion U.S. dollars railroad should run through the southern regions of the country to contribute to the development of its trade and economic relations.
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