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Category: construction

China, Cambodia Deny Washington Post Report of New PLA Navy Base

Chinese and Cambodian officials were quick to dismiss a Washington Post report this week that claimed the Chinese are building a new base at the Ream naval base in Preah Sihanouk province. "Cambodia won’t allow the Chinese military to use it ...

Kenya’s New Nairobi Expressway is Popular. Its Tolls? Not So Much

It's been a week since Kenya's Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway opened to the public. The road itself is very popular, but comments on Twitter make clear that users aren't in love with the cost of accessing the road.  The road is a 

Speed is the One of the Key Hallmarks of Chinese Infrastructure Diplomacy in Africa

Chinese ambassador to the DR Congo, Zhu Jing, touted the rapid pace of construction of the new Kinsuka power station that's being built by Shanghai Power in the capital Kinshasa. Just 10 months after construction began, said Zhu on Twitter, the new station is ...

Nairobi Expressway Signals Shift in Belt and Road Financing

Kenya’s new Nairobi Expressway is finally open to traffic. Transport Minister James Macharia commissioned the new Chinese-built intra-city highway on Saturday, ahead of its upcoming official launch.  The 27-kilometer road cost $668 million. How it recoups those costs will ...

Three Days to Go Before the Grand Opening of the Nairobi Expressway and a Lot of People Are Really ?&#)$! at the Chinese Contractor

The highly-anticipated opening of Nairobi's largest ever infrastructure project is now just days away and while many will be thrilled that a new expressway is finally opening to traffic, there's widespread discontent with the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) that built the highway.

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The G7’s New Infrastructure Initiative Could Strengthen China’s Global South Game: Experts

The G7’s new Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII), a $600 billion plan to build infrastructure across the Global South and counter China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), could have the effect of improving how Chinese companies do business and could end up improving the BRI itself, according to development experts. 

Some acknowledged that the BRI has been controversial for its environmental and debt impacts. But they also pointed out ...

Tunisia Inaugurates Chinese-Built Diplomatic Academy, Boosting Beijing’s ‘Building Diplomacy’

China’s construction of government buildings in Africa isn’t slowing, even as it cuts back on other large-scale infrastructure projects. Tunisia recently became the newest example, with the inauguration of its new Chinese-built Tunisian Diplomatic Academy. The building, built by China Civil Engineering Construction Corp., will ...

Toll Costs in Cambodia a Warning for Kenya?

As Kenyan stakeholders complain because tolls to use their new Nairobi Expressway have increased before the Chinese-built road has even opened, they should spare a thought for their compatriots in Cambodia. While the toll on the Nairobi Expressway will start from about $1 for ...

Nairobi Expressway Workers’ COVID Woes

As Kenya eagerly awaits the opening of the new Chinese-built Nairobi Expressway, concerns about workers and costs are surfacing. The Nation newspaper reported that the contractor, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), has reportedly refused to let some workers return to their hometowns since March 2020. This ...

New Complaint Adds to Kenya’s Chinese Contractor Woes

A Chinese contractor has slapped the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) with a bill for 1.1 billion Kenyan shillings ($9.6 million) in interest for delayed payments. The contractor, Nari-PCGE, complained to the Kenyan Parliament that it hadn’t been paid for its work on the 428-kilometer Loiyangalani-Suswa transmission line. ...

Stadium Diplomacy in Africa is Fashionable Again

Early on in China's engagement in Africa, the Chinese were big on gifting sports stadiums to African governments as part of their soft power diplomatic outreach on the continent. Later, Chinese infrastructure development shifted focus to larger, more conventional projects like bridges, railroads and highways but now ...
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