Chinese company hands over 1st batch of housing infrastructure project to Kuwait

Construction machines work at the construction site of a project of China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) in desert of Jahra Governorate, Kuwait, Oct. 18, 2020. China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) handed over on Tuesday the first batch of its housing infrastructure project to the Kuwaiti side, injecting new momentum into Kuwait's economy and livelihood. (Photo by Liu Lianghaoyue/Xinhua)

KUWAIT CITY, Oct. 20 (Xinhua) -- China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) handed over on Tuesday the first batch of its housing infrastructure project to the Kuwaiti side, injecting new momentum into Kuwait's economy and livelihood.

In the past three years, CGGC has excavated and backfilled about 70 million cubic meters of soil and stone and laid 2,800 km of underground pipe network despite harsh construction conditions and complicated procedures, said He Baisen, general manager of CGGC's infrastructure networks at the AL Mutlaa Residential Project, at the handover ceremony.

"The high-quality completion of the project reflects the spirit of Chinese enterprises to overcome the difficulties and comply with the agreements honestly," he said.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in February in Kuwait, CGGC has adopted strict measures to ensure the safety of the construction process, the manager noted, adding that the handover includes the related plots for 12,177 housing units, which accounts for about 70 percent of the project.

"With the efforts of more than 4,000 Chinese and foreign employees, we completed the handover 10 days ahead of schedule," he said, noting that it reflected the contribution of Chinese companies under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Li Minggang, Chinese ambassador to Kuwait, congratulated the handover and praised the spirit of the Chinese company to overcome difficulties and fulfil the contract despite the coronavirus pandemic.

"I hope CGGC continue to carry forward the spirit of hard work and realize the overall handover of the project," Li noted.

Fadel Hussain, representative of the Kuwait's Public Authority for Housing Welfare, said that Kuwait and China currently are cooperating closely and many Chinese companies have made contributions to the social development of Kuwait.

"It is not easy for the project to achieve today's results and we hope to continue to strengthen cooperation with Chinese companies in various projects in the future," he said.

CGGC's infrastructure network is part of the Kuwaiti Al Mutlaa Residential City Project. The construction site of CGGC covers nearly 30 sq km and the construction was started in April 2017.

As a welfare project of Kuwait, the Al Mutlaa Residential City Project is also an important cooperation project under China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

The total construction area of the whole project is about 120 sq km, which will accommodate 400,000 people after completion.