China-Africa: Infrastructure Agreements Worth Tens of Millions of Dollars
From Sudan to Tanzania and Zambia, Chinese companies will build power plants and grids and modernize railroads
The first tangible results of the Forum on China-Africa Economic Cooperation (FOCAC) now underway in Beijing. Sudan Energy and Mining Group has signed agreements worth $30 million with China Energy Engineering Group (CEEC) for solar power, mining and transmission lines. According to the agreements, some Chinese companies will be selected as subcontractors to implement very important projects for the economic development of Sudan.
Last week, Sudan Sovereignty Council President Abdel Fattah al Burhan, accompanied by Energy and Petroleum Minister Mohi Eddeen Naeem, was received in Beijing by Chinese President Xi Jinping to discuss prospects for economic cooperation and trade between China and the African country. During the meeting, Abdel Fattah al Burhan said his country is particularly interested in developing strategic projects with China in sectors ranging from nuclear energy to building ports and airports. As Abdel Fattah al Burhan emphasized, current and future agreements with China will allow Sudan to develop peaceful nuclear energy and modernize critical infrastructure.
Meanwhile, back at FOCAC, China, Tanzania, and Zambia signed a memorandum of understanding to “upgrade the Tazara Railway, which connects the port of Dar es Salaam in eastern Tanzania to the town of Kapiri Mposhi in the central province of Zambia.” China’s state-run Xinhua news agency wrote that the signing took place in the presence of President Xi Jinping and his counterparts from Tanzania and Zambia, Samia Suluhu Hassan and Hakainde Hichilema, respectively.
Xinhua recalls that “the 1860-kilometer-long Tazara Railway was built between 1970 and 1975 by China thanks to an interest-free loan granted to the two African countries by the Chinese government.” The railroad has strategic importance, especially to Zambia, as it guarantees this African country “a secure transportation route connecting its copper and cobalt mines with the port infrastructure along the Tanzanian coast, bypassing South Africa and the former state of Rhodesia.”
