Benefits Down the Line

　　Whil e at school in the 1980s， Wang Xiangdong’sknowledge about Africa centered on the Tazara Railway，a turnkey project financed and completed by China inthe 1970s. While being proud of the project symbolizingthe depth of Sino-African friendship， Wang was intriguedby the remote continent， but never in his wildest dreamsexpected that his future would be intertwined with Africa.

　　After graduating from university in 1997， Wang joinedChina Civil Engineering Construction Corp. (CCECC) andone year later was sent to Africa to begin his long associationwith the continent.

　　“The Tazara Railway is like a golden-letteredsignboard for our company. We receive warm hospitalitywhen local people learn we are the constructors of therailway，” said Wang， now General Manager of CCECC EastAfrica Ltd.， in an interview with ChinAfrica.

　　The friendship founded on the back of Tazara， a1，860-km rail that runs from East Africa’s major seaport ofDar es Salaam， Tanzania， into the heart of Zambia’s CentralProvince， was forged over decades and involved theefforts and hardships of CCECC employees like Wang.

　　Developed from China’s former Foreign Aid Bureau of theMinistry of Railways， CCECC was one of the first Chineseenterprises engaged in international project contracting.

　　As an overseas branch of CCECC， CCECC East Africawas the undertaker of the Tazara Railway project. Nowhaving integrated neighboring markets in Uganda andRwanda， it has grown into an international project contractorwith top-grade qualifications.

　　African roots

　　Unlike the globalization approach of many other Chineseenterprises that get bigger in the domestic market andthen go on to compete in the global arena， CCECCEast Africa has always positioned itself as aninternational contractor. This means thatthe career life of most CCECC employeesstarts with working abroad. Wang was noexception. He was sent to Botswana thesecond year he joined CCECC. Life then wasnot easy.

　　“I just returned home once during the firstfour years. The main [method of] communication[then] was writing to my family onceor twice every month，” Wang said. “As international callcharges at that time were expensive and the constructionsite was usually far away from cities where telephoneswere available， we had to travel miles for a minute-longcall just to make sure that the family were fine，” he added.Today CCECC carries on the spirit of friendly cooperationgeneration after generation and continues to helpTanzania and Zambia operate and maintain the TazaraRailway. In recent years， CCECC has expanded its businessto markets like water supply and drainage projectsin Tanzania. Since 2004， the company has undertakentwo water supply and drainage projects under a contractworth $100 million， according to Wang. “We completedthe projects with high quality and received widespreadpraise from the president， officials of water resourcedepartments and ordinary people，” Wang said.

　　In recent years， CCECC has become competitive in theconstruction business in Tanzania. Wang saida 22-story building project has now changedthe Dar es Salaam skyline， bringing a modernedge to the city. Undertaken by CCECCand completed in October 2013， the buildingis now the landmark of Tanzania’s capital， acomplex that integrates a shopping mall，business and conference center， recreationfacilities and parking lots.

　　“It is a project that had great constructiondifficulties. On the one hand it is located inthe downtown business center and neighborsan old building whose blueprint was lost.

　　On the other hand， the soil off the seashorewas not solid enough and posed a threat to the foundation，”Wang said， adding that the construction’s carefulpreparation meant it was executed with a high standardof workmanship.

　　Localization

　　Through years of experience in Africa， Wang realized theimportance of localization to the growth of an overseascompany. “Just depending on getting workers and technologyfrom home [China] would not help an enterprisekeep pace with the growth of overseas markets. We needmore local support，” Wang said.

　　He said CCECC has over 2，000 local employees in itsTanzanian operations， about 90 percent of its total employeesthere. “Among local employees， there are engineers，technicians and managerial personnel in charge ofprocurement， administration and project bidding，” Wangsaid， noting that locals take pride in working for CCECC assalaries are good and jobs there bring social status.

　　Cultural differences jeopardize the localization tosome extent， and can sometimes also lead to a delay inconstruction. “Locals are used to having a tea break. Nomatter how urgent the work is， they would stop at teatime，” Wang said. “We respect local customs and readjustthe working hours so that their tea break is guaranteed.”

　　Working hours are also regulated. “Beyond the eighthourworking day， they [staff] would choose to have arest rather than earn overtime. When we are on a tightschedule， it becomes a big headache，” Wang said.He believes adapting and earning the respect of staffare the best ways to overcome difficulties brought aboutby cultural differences. Therefore， CCECC takes the initiativeto improve surroundingroads and schoolswhenever it executes aproject. “We should showthem [Tanzanians] ourarrival brings a concreteimprovement to theirlives. In this way， we canestablish a win-win andharmonious relationshipwith them，” Wang said，adding that building aharmonious relationshipwill also facilitate thecompany’s sustainableoperation.

　　Mutual progressIn Wang’s eyes， employinglocals is just the beginningof an enterprise fulfillingits corporate responsibility.

　　Helping local staff toestablish promising careers by equipping them with professionalskills is a more effective approach to localization.

　　Wang said CCECC constructs railways and buildings toboost the local economy and improve people’s livelihood.“Take railways for example， it requires personnel andtechnology to operate and maintain them after they arefinished. Just sending professional technicians from homeis not the ultimate solution. We have to train locals to becompetent [in] such professional jobs，” Wang said.

　　At present， CCECC supports and assists outstandinglocal employees and high school graduates to study inChinese vocational schools and well-known universitieslike Southwest Jiaotong University and Central SouthUniversity， whose majors include studies related to the railindustry and rank among the best in China. “After graduation，they can either return to their home country or workin China. There are such employees in the company’ssurvey and design institute in Fuzhou， southeast China’sFujian Province，” Wang said.

　　The company is also considering the possibility oftraining technicians and managerial personnel in hostcountries with African counterparts. “Poor educationinfrastructure and a lack of qualified teachers is now abarrier to such cooperation，” Wang said， noting that trainingpersonnel is a long-term task that needs furthercooperation between enterprises and African countries.

　　To date， CCECC has trained many operation and maintenanceprofessionals for the Tazara Railway. Discussionsare currently underway with Tanzania and Zambiafor further cooperation to revitalize the railway that issuch a powerful symbol of Sino-African friendship.

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