Railways. Ports. Industrial parks. Power stations. Infrastructure cooperation between China and Africa is thriving, and the outcome is changing the lives of millions.
Industrial leaders and officials observed that the infrastructure projects undertaken by Chinese companies have yielded tangible benefits for Africans, helping the continent enhance its connectivity; improve conditions for economic and social development; advance its industrialization, modernization and integration; and forge new pathways for future growth.
“To get rich, build roads first.” The popular Chinese proverb rings true in Africa. Drawing on its own development experience, China has been dedicated to working with Africa to build transport facilities crucial for economic development.
According to the white paper, “China and Africa in the New Era: A Partnership of Equals,” Chinese companies over the last quarter century have helped African countries build or upgrade more than 10,000 km of railways, nearly 100,000 km of highways, roughly 1,000 bridges, almost 100 ports and 66,000 km of power transmission and distribution.
Additionally, Chinese companies have helped build an installed power-generating capacity of 120 million kW, a communications backbone network of 150,000 km and a network service covering nearly 700 million user terminals.
In Kenya, the Chinese-funded Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway has drastically reduced travel time and emerged as the preferred choice for commuters, playing a pivotal role in reducing logistics costs, stimulating commerce and empowering smaller towns along its corridor.
In Nigeria, the Abuja light rail, built by a Chinese company, started operating in May and has considerably eased congestion in the capital.
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu described the light rail’s operation as the “fruit of collaboration, dedication, progress, and foresightedness.”
China-Africa cooperation has taken infrastructure development to new heights. To bolster Africa’s green development, China has assisted countries in constructing several clean energy projects.
The De Aar Wind Farm has changed South Africa’s energy landscape. As the first wind power project financed, constructed and operated by a Chinese company in Africa, it supplies 760 million kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, meeting the electricity needs of 300,000 households. The farm has contributed to closing the gap caused by unstable clean energy and addressing the electricity shortage in South Africa.
In Kenya, the 55 megawatt Garissa Solar Power Plant, financed and constructed by Chinese firms, generates over 76 million kilowatt-hours annually, reducing carbon dioxide emissions by about 64,000 tons annually.
Kenya has moved closer to achieving its clean energy transition goals with the power plant, said Moses Masika Wetangula, speaker of Kenya’s National Assembly.
China has been a dependable partner to Kenya, Wetangula said, noting China’s support has been crucial to Africa’s development.
Various industrial zones were built and are operated by Chinese enterprises, such as the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park in Uganda, the Diamniadio International Industrial Platform in Senegal, the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Nigeria, and the China-Egypt TEDA Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone in Egypt.
Through these zones, countries can participate more effectively in the global production chain and promote the internationalization of local brands.
David Bahati, Uganda’s minister of state for trade, industry and cooperatives, told Xinhua that China has been providing capital and sharing skills and technology to help drive industrialization in his country.
“The development of the Sino-Uganda Mbale Industrial Park is doing wonders. We have seen the foreign direct investment coming through the industrial park, helping us in terms of import substitution. Most of the things we were importing, such as televisions and clothes, are all being produced at the park,” said Bahati.
Modern port cooperation between China and Africa is also developing rapidly.
A good example is the Kribi Deep Sea Port, built by China Harbor Engineering Company Ltd. (CHEC) in Cameroon’s southern town of Kribi. The new seaport, strategically positioned in the center of the Gulf of Guinea, has stimulated the country’s economy and has become a regional hub for the African Atlantic coast.
“With the coming of the Kribi port, Cameroon has once again placed herself as the port entry to the sub-region. This (port) has added more value to certain industrial projects in Chad, the Central African Republic and Congo,” said Alain Patrick Mpila Ayissi, manager of the Land Development and Environment Department of the Port Authority of Kribi.
In 2023, Tanzania’s first modern fishing harbor, Kilwa Harbor, also constructed by CHEC, was launched. As a flagship project under the Tanzanian government’s third five-year plan, it is expected to become an engine for economic growth.
The Kribi Deep Sea Port has played a crucial role in bolstering infrastructure development, employment, trade and investment in Cameroon, said Raymond Tavares, a representative in Cameroon and Central Africa of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
Infrastructure development is the cornerstone of Africa’s development, and improving the state of infrastructure is a common desire of the African people.
Cooperation between China and Africa in the new era provides a path to mutual development, creating a stronger foundation for a closer China-Africa community with a shared future.■
