Construction projects in Egypt showcase CSCEC's impressive overseas track record

Construction projects undertaken by the China State Construction Engineering Corp (CSCEC) at Cairo's New Administrative Capital will be the latest landmarks in Egypt, said the company on Thursday.

The construction giant officially launched its online Open Day event on Thursday to enable online viewers from across the world to have a closer look at the projects under construction by the construction giant. The company has completed or participated in many world-renowned buildings, such as infrastructure work on Disneyland in Hong Kong and one of the world's tallest buildings, the Shanghai World Financial Center.

According to the company, the Open Day will unveil the projects at the northeastern African country's New Administrative Capital in Cairo for global visitors, and leverage diversified technologies to offer clear views of the projects, which include 20 single buildings, covering 1.9 million square meters.

The 385-meter-tall skyscraper Iconic Tower, which has been under the spotlight on social media platforms as it is expected to be a new landmark of Egypt as well as the tallest building in Africa, will also be displayed during the event.

Covering about half a square kilometer, the construction of the CBD, including 12 business complexes, five residential buildings and two hotels, began in May 2018 and is expected to be completed by March 2022, according to CSCEC.

The project has a budget of about $3 billion, 85 percent of which is financed by Chinese banks, with the remaining amount covered by Egypt's Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities. It is part of Egypt's blueprint for a new administrative capital between Cairo and Suez, with an area of 714 square km, to help ease chronic congestion experienced by more than 20 million residents of Cairo.

"The project in Cairo's New Administrative Capital is so impressive," said a message from an online audience on Kuaishou, a short video and livestreaming platform. "We heard a lot about the company's names recently. Days before there was a video showing five swivel bridges completed synchronous rotation and docking at a railway construction site in Beibei district of Chongqing also by CSCEC.That one is also good."

Apart from the support of the technologies, designs and investments, CSCEC's working with local construction companies and sources for raw material and large equipment supplies to jointly build the new CBD also means the project is helping to provide thousands of job opportunities for the local economy and promote its development.

In addition to the Open Day, many other online events are in pipeline, leveraging livestreaming, social media platforms and other internet solutions, to offer its help in poverty-stricken areas in nation, such as helping local farmers to sell products during livestreaming, as a move to contribute to nation's goal of eliminating absolute poverty by the end of this year, the company said.

According to the company, 29 cities in 14 countries will be included in the three-month long Open Day event, showcasing CSCEC's efforts in stepping up sustainable development both domestically and globally.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact travel agencies, airlines and shipping companies around the globe, apart from CSCEC, many of its peers have also begun to announce progress on their overseas construction sites via online open events.

Beijing-based China Communications Construction Co Ltd launched an online event to provide the public a chance to virtually tour Port City Colombo in Sri Lanka.

An online event was also held by Longyuan South Africa Renewables of China Longyuan Power Group Corp, a subsidiary of China Energy Investment Corporation (China Energy), to demonstrate how Chinese SOEs fulfill their responsibilities in overseas markets.

"Backed by various mature digital technologies, solid construction experience, corporate social responsibility and future economic synergies, these open media events will be persuasive in improving the image of Chinese companies across the world," said Gao Lingyun, a research fellow at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Beijing-based Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.