In order to deeply integrate into the high-quality co-construction of the “Belt and Road” and help realize the beautiful blueprint of “Three Hubs and Four New Missions”, Cai Dianwei, chairman of Hunan Construction Investment Group (HCIG), visited the Maldives with his delegation for a series of business activities from February 19 to 22.

 He first visited the Chinese Embassy in the Maldives on February 19. He and He Fen, the chargé d'affaires, exchanged information on HCIG’s project cooperation in the Maldives.

He Fen introduced the political and economic situation of the Maldives, and hoped that HCIG will give full play to its own advantages to promote cooperation with the Maldives and ensure the safe and smooth implementation of the projects under construction, contributing to the high-quality co-construction of the “Belt and Road” between China and the Maldives.

Cai Dianwei thanked the embassy for its care, guidance and support. He said that HCIG will actively implement the “Belt and Road” initiative, deeply participate in the Maldives market, continuously expand cooperation with the Maldives in infrastructure and other fields, further innovate the development model, and effectively implement the projects, contributing to the deepening of friendly relations between China and the Maldives.

On February 20, at the invitation of the Maldives, Cai Dianwei and his delegation visited island hotels in the Maldives for the construction of supporting facilities and infrastructure, and surveyed transportation, municipal road projects, airport, solar photovoltaic, offshore wind power and other projects in Male of the Maldives.

On the afternoon of February 21, Cai Dianwei went to the South Asia Regional Center of China Harbour for negotiations and exchanges, and reached consensus in multiple cooperation items. Both parties look forward to further expanding the dimensions of cooperation through this exchange and strengthening practical cooperation in various fields to create more high-quality projects and benchmark projects.

On February 22, the signing ceremony of the cooperation agreement for the airport projects on Vilufushi Island and Guraidoo Island in the Maldives was held at the Ministry of Infrastructure Construction of the Maldives. Before the signing ceremony, Cai Dianwei exchanged ideas with Abdulla Muththalib, minister of Construction and Infrastructure of the Maldives, on the long-term cooperation achievements and future plans between the two sides.

Subsequently, Cai Dianwei and Abdulla Muththalib signed the project contract on behalf of both parties. Ibrahim Thoaam Mohamed, Maldives Ismail Hameed, and Hassan Rasheed, deputy ministers of the Maldives, and main heads of Hunan No.6 Engineering Co., Ltd. and SHICO jointly participated in it.

The airport projects are national key strategic projects in the Maldives, with a total cost of approximately 65.5 million US dollars. The airport on Vilufushi Island plans to build an 1,800-meter airport runway, and the airport on Guraidoo Island will build a 1,500-meter airport runway. Both of them require the construction of passenger terminals, fire stations, control towers, and related supporting facilities.

After the completion of the projects, they will greatly improve the convenience of transportation between islands in the Maldives, improve the supporting infrastructure for local residents, and enhance the travel experience of tourists in the Maldives, helping further develop the tourism industry in the Maldives.

On the morning of February 21, Cai Dianwei listened to the work report on project progress, safety production, quality control, and localization management in the Maldives branch and project department of the group. He fully affirmed the phased achievements of the project team.

At the symposium, he also had in-depth exchanges with representatives of overseas employees from various business sectors on the development of the group’s overseas business, personal growth, and difficulties in work.

He expressed sincere gratitude to the front-line employees and their families. He said that the deep friendship between China and the Maldives is a solid foundation for the projects. He hoped that young employees can deeply cultivate the Maldives market and foster growth drivers for sustainable development in localized operations. The group will provide comprehensive support and assistance to overseas employees in their work and life.

Cai Dianwei also emphasized the need to implement the important consensus reached by the heads of two countries, promote high-quality project construction, and ensure quality compliance, making contributions to the economic and social development and improvement of people’s livelihoods in the Maldives. At the same time, it is necessary to systematically summarize the experience of overseas project construction, laying a solid foundation for undertaking new projects and deepening cooperation in the future.