Tan Ding, vice chairman and general manager of Hunan Construction Investment Group (HCIG), went to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Kenya for inspections from April 14 to 20.

During his stay in DRC, Tan Ding visited such government agencies as the Ministry of Mines, Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Ministry of Foreign Trade, and National Testing Center with a delegation from the Hunan provincial government. He held working talks with the president of the DRC Mining Association and the Chinese Ambassador to DRC, and participated in symposiums with Chinese enterprises in DRC. 

During this period, the delegation conducted in-depth discussions with mining companies in DRC such as Sicomines SA and CMOC on the cooperation model in the mining industry between China and Africa.

DRC has abundant mineral resources. Chinese enterprises have made significant breakthroughs through innovative models such as industry-trade linkages and investment-driven model. The continuous development of engineering and business is achieved through the closed-loop circulation brought by industry-trade linkages. The investment-driven model not only drives engineering companies to provide supporting mining, mining construction and other engineering services, but also enables them to obtain high investment returns. These models are worth learning from for the group.

Tan Ding then visited Guo Haiyan, Chinese ambassador to Kenya, and Zhou Zhencheng, commercial counselor of the embassy. He introduced the development history, major achievements, landmark projects undertaken by HCIG in Africa, and ongoing projects in Kenya. Guo Haiyan warmly welcomed Tan Ding and the delegation, and highly praised the development achievements of the group in Kenya. She said that the embassy will continue to support the cooperation and development of Chinese enterprises in Kenya.

Tan Ding also had in-depth discussions with Eng. Kungu Ndungu, Director General of Kenya National Highways Authority, and owners of the Lot 1: Mombasa - Mtwapa Section project on the current progress of the project and explored opportunities for future cooperation in the infrastructure field. He provided a detailed introduction to the progress and difficulties of the project, and proposed suggestions on issues such as slow land acquisition progress and temporary closure of the gravel field. Eng. Kungu Ndungu highly praised the professional and contractual capabilities demonstrated by HCIG in the field of infrastructure in Africa, and promised to solve relevant difficulties to ensure the smooth implementation of the project.

Besides, Ephantus Kimotho Kimani, Principal Secretary, State Department for Irrigation, said that the BOSTO Dam project in Bomet County is now in a critical stage of financing. He thanked HCIG for its outstanding contributions to the project and looked forward to its launch as soon as possible so as to alleviate the worries about livelihood issues in the surrounding areas, promote production capacity, and drive Kenya’s economic development. Tan Ding said that the group will continue to fully cooperate with the State Department for Irrigation to advance the project.

Tan Ding conducted investigations at the East African Regional Center of Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group (HNRB). He listened carefully to the report on the construction of key projects by HNRB, comforted all employees of the East African Regional Management Center, and encouraged them to carry forward the spirit of hard work, contributing to the high-quality development of the group.

At the site of the China-Kenya Economic and Trade Incubation Park Project, Tan Ding gained a detailed understanding of the project’s safety management, engineering quality management, construction schedule arrangement, and overall promotion of fine decoration construction. On behalf of the group, he expressed sincere gratitude to those who have been fighting overseas for a long time and have contributed to the international development of the group.

In addition, Tan Ding visited the Lot 1: Mombasa - Mtwapa Section project for its progress, listened to reports on quality control, safety management, and the application of reinforced retaining wall technology. He fully affirmed the project’s technological innovation and construction achievements, and emphasized the need to continuously optimize construction organization to ensure high-quality and efficient progress of the project for its early completion.

Tan Ding also went to Voi and Mombasa of Kenya for the construction of local road facilities and road network planning.