Consortium involving Chinese company wins concession for Bulgaria's Plovdiv Airport -- A consortium of China's HNA Airport Group and Netherlands-registered Plovdiv Airport Invest won a concession to operate Plovdiv Airport for a period of 35 years, the Bulgarian government said on Mar. 28. During the concession period, the concessionaire will have to invest about 79.08 million euros (98 million U.S. dollars) for the repair, maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing infrastructure at the airport, as well as the construction of new facilities, the government said in a statement. After a grace period of 48 months, the concessionaire will have to pay each year 600,000 BGN (380,000 dollars) excluding VAT and 6 percent of its total net revenue from all activities related to the use of Plovdiv airport during the year, the statement said.
Cambodia unveils 1st water quality monitoring station with China's aid -- Cambodia inaugurated the first water quality monitoring station with China's aid on Mar. 26 near the confluence of the Mekong and Tonle Sap rivers in the Diamond Island town. Cambodian Environment Minister Say Samal and Bai Chunli, president of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), jointly unveiled the station. Bai said the station was part of the China-Cambodia joint lab for water and environment research and it marked a new milestone of collaboration between the two countries in the fields of water and environment. Before the inauguration ceremony, Samal and Bai also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on environment cooperation, which would focus on environment protection, biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and natural resources management for sustainable development.
Construction work of China-funded national road launched in southern Cambodia -- Cambodia on March 23 began the construction of a China-funded national road No. 11 that connects Prey Veng province to Tboung Khmum province in the country's southern part. The construction of the 96.4-km national road, including two bypass roads, will be done by the China Road and Bridge Corporation at a cost of 94.1 million U.S. dollars, a concessional loan from the Chinese government. The project is expected to be completed in 44 months. Speaking at the event, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen expressed his gratitude to the government and people of China for having provided grant aid, non-interest loan, and concessional loan to Cambodia for socio-economic development.
Croatia rejects appeals against Chinese consortium winning bridge contract -- Croatian State Commission for Supervision of Public Procurement Procedures rejected on Mar. 23 all appeals against the selection of a Chinese consortium to build Peljesac bridge, state television reported. After more than two months of analyzing their allegations, the state commission rejected appeals from Austrian construction firm Strabag, as well as from the consortium of Italian Astaldi and Turkish IC Ictas, both bidders for the construction of Peljesac bridge, one of the most important infrastructure projects in Croatia. The Croatian state-owned motorway operator Hrvatske Ceste (Croatian Roads) awarded the project to the third bidder, a consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation in January. The Commission decided that the consortium led by China Road and Bridge Corporation is fulfilling all technical conditions for the project and that the price claims in the appeal are not accurate.
7 pct of construction of first section of Thailand-China high speed railway completed -- Construction of the first section of Thailand-China High Speed Train project has been running smoothly, or 7 percent completed, Thanin Somboon, Director-General of Thailand's Department of Highways said on Mar. 22 at the construction site. The clearing and grubbing of the first 3.5-kilometer section is finished in the main, contributing to a 7 percent completion of the section, said Thanin at a press tour to where the project began last December. "The highway department is confident to finish the 3.5-kilometer section within four months, or before August, once we are fully funded," said the director-general. So far, the cooperation between China and Thailand has been going well, which would be a referential experience for the construction of future sections, Thanin emphasized.
China's carmaker SAIC plans to build factory in Egypt: minister -- China's giant carmaker SAIC Motor seeks to establish a car manufacturing factory in Egypt, Egypt's Minister of Trade and Industry Tarek Kabil said on Mar. 22. Kabil said in a statement that he reviewed with a visiting SAIC delegation the advantages and incentives provided by Egypt's newly approved investment law to encourage full car manufacturing, not just assembling parts, in Egypt. "The Ministry of Trade and Industry is ready to provide all support and assistance to help SAIC Motor enter the Egyptian market for auto manufacturing, especially in light of the state's current policy that targets boosting auto manufacturing and putting Egypt on the map of this industry," Kabil said. The factory that SAIC seeks to build in Egypt aims to not only meet the needs of the Egyptian market but also become a central point of SAIC exports to Arab and African states that have free trade agreements with Egypt.
Chinese company to construct hydropower in Nepal under EPCF modality for first time -- Chongqing Water Turbine Works Co., Ltd (CWTW), a Chinese company, has agreed to build a hydropower project in Nepal promoted by the private sector under Engineering, Procurement, Construction and Financing (EPCF) modality. The CWTW and Nepal's People's Energy Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop the 48.8 MW Khimti-2 Hydropower Project located at the border of Ramechhap and Dolakha district in province 3, 198 km away from capital Kathmandu, the Nepali company said in a press statement. Based on the MoU signed earlier this month, the Chinese company will finance 88 million U.S. dollars to develop the project whose construction is expected to start in April this year. The project is expected to generate electricity commercially from July 2021.
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