Clean water nourishes the hearts of Angolan villagers

On August 5, 2010, the small village of Sifinbu in the Angolan province of Cabinda also bore witness to history. Before 9am, hundreds of people in the village had already gathered at the water collecting point, from the elderly woman with a bucket on her head to the children holding plastic bottles. They held their breath and waited for the historic moment.

At the precise moment of nine o 'clock, the cabinda workers seemed to hear the chiming of the clock and turned on the tap to formally deliver the water. Looking at the moment when the clean tap water spouted out, the crowd was boiling and everyone was smiling happily. A old woman drew out "Scissors hands" for the camera as a memory. The villager Fei LAN Du was excited and shouted loudly in the crowd: "Xi Naxi, play jump! (Chinese, very good).

For the 2, 000-plus villagers of Sifinbu, this is the first time in their lives they have used tap water. Before that, their ancestors had drawn water from remote swamps. Clean drinking water is a luxury that cabinda, Angola and Africa have been longing for for generations. The first batch of water delivery pipes of Angola Cabinda water Supply project, constructed by China Railway No.20 Engineering Group, was officially put into households for water supply, which marked that nearly 5,000 residents of two villages in Cabinda could enjoy clean and clear tap water at seven water intake points. Shout "Cissy, jump!" Fei Landu, a villager of China Railway 20 Bureau Group, was hired two years ago to participate in the construction of water supply project. He knew that the tap water in the village was not easy.

This project is implemented by China Railway No. 20 Bureau Group in EPC contract mode. The construction contract amount is usd 120 million, and will directly benefit 600,000 Angolan people. The project, which will cover 92 percent of Cabinda's population, is scheduled to be completed by the end of October and put into operation by the end of December. Zhu Qihui, party secretary and chairman of China Railway 20th Bureau Angola International Corporation, introduced that this is a Chinese solution tailored for Angola by Chinese enterprises. It is the country's most intelligent and modern water supply system, which is entirely based on Chinese standards, Made in China and Chinese brands.

There is no network signal on the construction site. The primitive jungle is dense, just like entering a no man's land. Mosquitoes are everywhere and most of the employees bitten by malaria...

"In addition to the poor environment, construction progress has been very difficult. It takes about 5 to 6 months for a small screw to be transported from China to the construction site through 15 links. Each batch of imported goods consists of two categories of fees and 18 related units. In addition, there are Chinese, English and Portuguese for the bills of lading, which makes it more difficult to communicate with each other in terms of maritime transport and import customs clearance." Despite the difficulties, Mr. Zhu said, the company ensured that all materials arrived on schedule and the project proceeded smoothly.

By March 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic was spreading in Africa, and all construction projects in Angola pressed the "pause" button. The Chinese builders resolutely carried out epidemic prevention and control as well as construction and production, and successfully completed commissioning of water supply on May 30.

It is worth noting that the project will use 12 kilometers of 30 kv power transmission lines, 2 boxes, 4 inductive transformers, 65 distribution cabinets, 31,000 meters of field cables, 38 kilometers of communication cables, more than 260 sets of sockets from the taking-pool to the reservoir, about 6 kilometers of distance... All the equipment and accessories are made in China, and the owner and supervisor are very recognized by the Chinese brand.

What the Chinese builders have delivered is not only water, but also friendship and cooperation. In early October 2019, the hospital in Landana, Cabinda province cut off water in an emergency, and the builder sent water for four consecutive days. The municipal government of Landana sent a letter of thanks. Cabinda municipal government investment plant suffered a fire, the first time the builders went to rescue, and for the local people to repair the road, repair houses...

"The project department has successively employed more than 700 Employees of Anfang, including more than 20 middle-level managers and above, cultivated more than 500 skilled workers, chauveured employees to and from work every day, set up a special canteen, and hired nearly 20 local chefs to cook, so as to truly be a good friend of Anfang employees." 'The salary of Employees in Angola is the same as that of Chinese employees, including basic salary and performance salary,' Mr. Zhu said. 'Employees will be assessed on the same day and paid in a timely manner, and will be included in the top tier.'

In addition, the project department also periodically subcontracts the small processes to Anfang employees. At present, the project department has subcontracted more than 20 processes to more than 400 Anfang employees, which not only improves the work efficiency, but also increases the income of local employees. Cabinda water supply system project safety officer Gionni so he built a house, 2 children also have the cost of junior college. He was so happy about it that he even introduced his nephew to work here.

Zhu Qihui told reporters that the water supply project was highly appraised by Angolan President Lorenzo. "The President said that the safety, quality and progress of the Cabinda water supply project are very good, and the Chinese speed and standards are very good. We look forward to the early realization of the comprehensive water supply target and the provision of quality water supply services to the people of Cabinda."