Iran Yadavaran Oil Field

Total Investment: 2 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2007 - 2011

http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2006-09/13/xinsrc_33209031314441562082927.jpg

2007年12月10日，中石化集团宣布，与伊朗国家石油公司以回购服务方式正式签署亚达瓦兰油田(Yadavaran)开发合同。亚达瓦兰油田位于伊朗胡泽斯坦省会阿瓦士以西，紧邻两伊边界，面积675平方公里，目前已探明原油储量达180亿桶，是世界上迄今为止最大的未开发油田之一。中石化在亚达瓦兰油田开发项目中的权益将达到51%。

　　早在2004年，中伊双方就在北京签署谅解备忘录，伊方原则同意中石化以回购方式参与亚达瓦兰油田的开发，中石化则承诺在未来25年内，每年从伊朗采购1000万吨液化天然气。
　　据双方达成的主开发合同，该油田开发的全部投资由中方承担，中石化计划用4年时间分三期进行开发。其中第一期投资20亿美元，建成45口油井，稳产后日产原油85000桶。至于第二阶段，即日产量增加10万桶阶段的合同，将于日后敲定，届时，总产量达到每天185000桶，油井的总数将达到137个。

Another great thread 沙发 :)

Gabon Belinga Iorn Ore Project

Total Investment: 2.7 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2008 - 2033
2008年7月8日电---中国机械工业集团公司网站刊登消息称,集团旗下子公司中国机械设备进出口总公司(CMEC)近日已与加蓬政府签订加蓬贝林加铁矿项目矿权协议.双方合资公司将依据该协议对矿山和配套基础设施运营25年,矿山设计年开采量将达到3000万吨.

贝林加（BELINGA）铁矿位于加蓬东北部梅坎博铁矿区，东南距梅坎博97公里。主矿区及其周边矿区的总储量约8.77亿吨。矿床南北长20公里、东西宽5公里。为了开发贝林加铁矿，该项目还需配套修建一座水电站（4 X 12.5MW）、一条铁路（总长为562公里）和一个港口（年运量为2000万吨），总投资约为27亿美元，其中铁矿开采（年产量为2000万吨）约为3亿美元，水电站约为2亿美元，铁路约为15亿美元，港口约为7亿美元。贝林加铁矿50年前即发现,但因开发难度高,一直没有开采.

该项目是中方目前在非洲进行的最大资源类投资项目之一,也是迄今中国在加蓬投资最多的一个项目.
贝林加铁矿所在地区属于热带雨林气候，树木非常茂密，灌木丛生，地表基本被残枝枯叶覆盖，一般无法通行，必须用油锯和砍刀开路。项目工作任务重，时间短，而且地质人员少，地质人员和本地工人用砍刀和油锯砍勘探线，一般两个小时才能前进一百米。有时填图从山顶到山脚要翻过三四个陡崖，而且地势较陡，等到了山脚已经汗流浃背了，再返回到山顶已经可想而知了，但是从没有人叫苦叫累，就这样在整个工期共完成了20平方公里地质填图。

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Nigeria Railway Modernisation Programme

Total Investment: 8.3 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2006 - 2015

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中非合作论坛北京峰会召开前夕，中国与尼日利亚签订合同，承建尼日利亚一条全长1315公里耗资83亿美元的双线标准轨铁路，这是中国企业迄今为止承揽的最大的国际工程承包项目。

　　“这条铁路的修建，对中尼双方来说其实是双赢。”昨天，铁道部一位官员在接受《第一财经日报》采访时指出，一方面，尼日利亚的经济能得到飞速发展，而另一方面，中国也能通过技术和设备的出口增加在非洲的贸易额。

　　这条新建铁路项目由拉各斯至卡诺，连接了尼日利亚乃至西非最大的城市拉各斯和首都阿布贾。铺轨总里程达2730公里。线路设计为全立交、全封闭，并采用全自动闭塞微机连锁系统，共设有25个车站和2个机车车辆维修工厂。设计行车时速150公里，全部采用中国铁路技术标准建设。

　　2006年10月31日凌晨，该项目签约仪式在尼日利亚首都阿布贾举行，而中标方正是中国铁道建筑总公司和其所属的中国土木工程集团公司。尼日利亚总统奥巴桑乔主持了当天的签字仪式，中土集团公司总经理林荣新和尼日利亚交通部高级官员分别代表中土集团公司和尼日利亚政府在协议上签字。中土集团公司总经理林荣新说，中尼铁路现代化改造项目是中尼双边交往的一件大事，也是中非友好合作的象征。

　　铁道部工程管理中心一位专家在接受本报记者采访时表示，既然该铁路全部采用中国铁路技术标准建设，则意味着他们必定会进口中国的技术和机车设备，这对中国而言，无疑也是好事。

　　2006年4月，中国进出口银行与尼财政部签订了25亿美元的货款备忘录，尼方决定至少拿出其中的10亿美元，同时提供相应的配套资金,用于铁路现代化建设。

　　据介绍，上世纪70年代，中国援建了坦赞铁路，还传授铁路维护等技术、管理知识给对方。

　　中国非洲问题研究会常务副会长黄泽全表示：“中国和非洲的关系是政治、经济、科技、文化全方位的。”非洲国家希望通过开发资源，获得资金，发展经济，我们可以向非洲提供他们需要的技术、设备，共同开发资源，使中国公司也获得理想的效益，最终实现双赢目的。

尼日利亚是非洲最大的石油生产国和世界第六大石油出口国，也是石油输出国组织（欧佩克）成员国之一。煤储量约２７. ５亿吨，为西非唯一产煤国。
China Railway Group Ltd Won Liberia Project

Total Investment: 2.6 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2007 - 2011

近日，正在紧锣密鼓进行先A后H上市的中国铁建股份有限公司，中标利比亚沿海铁路和南北铁路项目，合同估算金额分别为22亿和10亿利比亚第纳尔，合计32亿第纳尔，约合26亿美元。

据了解，利比亚沿海铁路（胡姆斯至西尔特）长约352公里，工期4年，是贯穿利比亚境内东西向的铁路干线，也是泛阿拉伯、泛非洲铁路网的重要组成部分，主要服务于胡姆斯和西尔特之间的货物和旅客运输。利比亚南北铁路（黑舍至塞卜哈）为800公里，工期3年，主要用于从南部塞卜哈区域向北部沿海城市米苏拉塔运输铁矿石以及南北间的旅客运输。据悉，这两个项目已初步定在今年6月份举行开工典礼。

此前，中国铁建A股招股意向书显示，中国铁建是中国成长最快、海外新签合同额最高的基础建设工程承包商，2006年和2007年1月至11月的新签海外合同额分别达到439.29亿元和895.37亿元人民币，居中国对外工程承包企业的首位。截至2007年11月份，中国铁建海外工程承包未完成合同额尚有1169.5亿元人民币。

CNPC (Parent of PetroChina) Sudan Oil Project

Total Investment: 7 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 1997 - 2015

1997年，中石油集团控股40％的大尼罗河石油公司成立，开始开发西方国家退出的苏丹南部的石油。从那以后，中石油的员工们就一拨一拨地开赴那个遥远的地方。

“那里的艰苦，在国内根本无法想象。”中石油六公司管理人员张同高说。他1999年在那工作的时候，员工们所需要的任何日常用品，牙膏、肥皂和饼干等，都要从首都喀土穆——当时的首都就像中国西北地区的一个小县城——空运过来，一周两三次，“根本没街可上”。

在苏丹，活跃着越来越多的中国人(据说有3万人)：他们开餐馆，办农场，开加油站，卖中国货，在首都修建各种各样的高楼大厦包括新的总统官邸。中国人渴望分享这个饱受战乱的国家迎来的新消费时代。

而在西方国家眼里，苏丹仍是一个从商禁区。上月，在由美国《外交政策》杂志及和平基金会所评选的2007年失败国家指数的报告中，苏丹被认为是世界上最动荡的国家，紧随其后的是伊拉克。

苏丹财政和国民经济部部长Ahmed　Magzoub　说，中国在苏丹石油产业的投资累计已经超过了60亿美元，在工业和农业上非石油类的直接投资达到3亿美元。中国是苏丹最大的境外投资国。

为非洲提供“能消费得起的能源”，最典型的项目莫过于中石油在苏丹的石油项目。这个项目集上游的勘探开发和下游的炼油加工，外加一条从南部油田到东北部苏丹港全长1370公里的原油管道，一举使苏丹从一个石油净进口国变成了石油净出口国，并且实现了石油工业上、下游的一体化，而不仅仅只停留在原油出口。石油工业的大发展，也使人口只有三千多万的苏丹走上了经济快速发展的道路，这几年的GDP增长都超过了6％。

中石油在苏丹的石油项目，因此也成为新时期中非合作项目典范中的典范。苏丹石油工业的成功，也成为中石油进军其他非洲石油国家的名片。

2007年，中石油海外原油产量突破6000万，相当于再造了一个大庆油田，其中苏丹石油项目的石油产量就超过1000万吨。

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CNPC Investing US$5 Billion In Niger Oil Fields

2008年6月2日，中石油公司与尼日尔政府签订了开发尼“阿加德姆石油勘探区块”的合作协议，中石油将在3年内投资50亿美元开发该区块。

据英国路透社3日报道，“阿加德姆石油勘探区块”目前已探明的石油储量有3.24亿桶。除投资50亿美元开发上述区块外，中石油还将建设一座年处理100万吨原油的炼油厂和一条2000公里的石油输送管道。

路透社评论说，中石油与尼日尔政府签署的“阿加德姆石油勘探区块”石油勘探协议，扩大了中国在撒哈拉以南非洲石油丰富地区的影响。尼日尔共和国地处西非内陆，撒哈拉沙漠南面，面积126万平方公里，人口约1100万，是世界第三大铀矿出产国。

阿加德姆(Agadem)石油区块总面积达28000平方公里。其规模仅次于中石油在苏丹的石油项目。

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Russia: The Baltic Pearl

Total Investment: 1.346 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2005 - 2012

http://news.tom.com/dimg/2007/0610/img-1367814434.jpg

由５家上海企业投资13亿美元在俄罗斯圣彼得堡兴建的“波罗的海明珠”项目于2005年5月９日举行奠基仪式，该项目成为迄今中国在俄最大的直接投资项目。圣彼得堡市长马特维延科说，“波罗的海明珠”项目将是中国投资者进入俄罗斯和欧洲的“名片”。

项目选址位于圣彼得堡西南波罗的海沿岸的红村区，计划建设成一个以现代化、生态化、人性化、欧洲化为特征的大型多功能综合社区。项目总占地约２００公顷，建筑面积１９３万平方米，其中住宅建筑面积约１００万平方米，并设有宾馆、零售、餐饮、文化、教育、娱乐、休闲、医疗等配套设施。

马特维延科介绍说，“明珠”项目堪称中俄重大战略性合作项目的新典范。圣彼得堡市政府和上海市政府已签署投资合作协议，中国投资者将在２０２０年前为圣彼得堡带来总计１２０亿美元的投资。除“明珠”项目外，中方还将为圣彼得堡科技园基建项目融资３０亿到４５亿美元。

这位女市长还细陈了“明珠”项目带来的益处。首先，中国资金的引进，使圣彼得堡市西南区常年荒废的大片土地得以开发利用，包括附近芬兰湾滨海一带的设施也将修葺一新。其次，项目建成后将为３．５万圣彼得堡市民提供１００万平方米的高水准住宅，同时为１．５万人创造就业机会。第三，俄方利用中资建设幼儿园、学校等基础设施，解决了不少困扰当地居民的难题。

马特维延科指出，近年来，中国经济迅速崛起，上海市在短短数年间“脱胎换骨”成为名副其实的国际大都市。俄方选择上海作为投资方，希望通过合作借鉴先进经验。与此同时，“明珠”项目也是中方向世界显示投资能力的良机。

中国的俄罗斯问题专家季志业认为，“明珠”项目是中俄双边经贸史上的新起点。经验表明，任何两国间的经济合作如果缺少大规模投资就会受到限制，因此以投资带动合作是中俄深化经贸关系的有效途径。

“明珠”项目投资方、上海海外联合投资股份有限公司总裁包季鸣说，该项目将由欧洲知名设计机构参与规划，建成后不会有传统中国城的任何痕迹，投资方会尊重俄罗斯人欧洲式的审美情趣和生活方式。

中国投资方代表、上海实业集团董事长蔡来兴也表示，中方将努力克服项目定位、成本控制和文化差异等方面的风险，全力以赴把“明珠”项目建设成魅力四射、让圣彼得堡市民眼睛一亮的综合社区。

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Construction started yesterday at the Baltic Pearl mega-complex project in Russia's St Petersburg, Shanghai's largest overseas investment project.

The project, with projected total investment of US$1.346 billion, was granted an eight-year loan of US$500 million by the Export-Import Bank of China.

This year marks the "Year of Russia" in China, with Russia to hold the "Year of China" next year, in which the Baltic Pearl project will play an important role.

Shanghai Industrial Investment (Holdings) Co Ltd, one of the investors in the project, will commence the construction of tens of thousands of square meters of residential and commercial facilities and plazas in St Petersburg this year. By next year, part of the residential element of the Baltic Pearl complex is expected to be completed and the various activities of the "Year of China" will be held there.

China to Build Algeria's East-West Highway

Total Investment: 6.25 Billion US Dollars
Project Duration: 2006 - 2009

http://news.xinhuanet.com/fortune/2006-05/22/xinsrc_372050322163979626381.jpg

2006年5月，阿尔及利亚政府正式向中信－中铁建联合体发出中标通知书并同时对外公告：中国中信-中铁建联合体以技术、商务综合评分第一中标阿尔及利亚东西高速公路中、西两个标段工程，框架合同总金额约为62.5亿美元。

据悉，最终合同金额将达70亿美元（约560亿元人民币）。

这是中国公司有史以来在国际工程承包市场获得的各类工程中单项合同金额最大、同类工程中技术等级最高、工期最短的大型国际设计-建造总承包项目，也是在世界工程承包市场中拿下的同类项目单项合同额最大订单。

　　60多家顶尖工程公司参与角逐阿高速公路

阿尔及利亚东西高速公路全长1216公里，待建路段长927公里，全线东连突尼斯、西接摩洛哥，连通马格里布五国集团约7000公里的沿海地区。

它既是阿尔及利亚贯穿东西方向的主要交通大动脉，又是北非地中海沿岸国家重要的战略要道，被认为是当地经济增长的发动机。

记者从中信建设国华公司马传福总经理助理处获悉，2005年10月底，阿尔及利亚东西高速公路项目招标信息一经公布，立即引发了一场招投标领域的激烈竞争。中信集团即从当月开始到今年1月组织了最强的技术力量来准备投标标书。

当时的竞标之战打得极其激烈。来自全世界至少64家顶尖工程公司组成的7家投标联合体参与了该项目的角逐。其中，包括2005年《工程新闻记录》“全球最大承包商”排名第一的法国万喜公司、排名第五的美国柏克德公司、排名第七的日本大成建设、排名第八的日本鹿岛建设、排名第二十二的德国贝尔芬格伯格公司等。

　　中国公司中两个标段里程全长达528公里

中信集团牵头的中国中信-中铁建联合体参与了全部3个标段的竞争，并一举获得里程分别约169公里和359公里的中、西两个标段工程。由日本6家公司组成的联合体中标东段高速公路项目。

据悉，阿尔及利亚高速公路预计2009年竣工。

尽量多雇用当地工人是竞标胜出法宝之一
中国公司之所以能够胜出，主要原因有三：出色的项目实施方案；中信集团整合、组织国内外资源的强大能力；中信－中铁建联合体在投标书中明确承诺，将培训阿当地工人，为当地人创造尽可能多的就业机会，这也是取胜之道。

Pakistan's Diamer Bhasha dam

Cost : $8.5 billion

Project duration : 2009 (est.) -


In a major development regarding the construction of Diamer Bhasha dam, China has agreed to completely finance the $8.5 billion project, sources in Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) told on Thursday

http://www.daily.pk/business/55-businessnews/6415-china-to-fully-finance-diamer-bhasha-dam-in-pakistan.html

China's CNPC seals $3bn Iraq deal

China's state-owned oil firm CNPC has agreed a $3bn (£1.63bn) oil services contract with the government of Iraq.



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7585790.stm

Shanghai goes to Singapore, a traveling library


The Shanghai Tunnel Engineering Co Ltd has won a $232m contract to design and build Singapore Land Transport Authority's new subway line, the Downtown Line (DTL). Construction on the line's first phase will last through 2013, taking the subway line through Bugis, Promenade, Bayfront, Landmark, Cross Street and Chinatown. http://finance.qq.com/a/20080827/000279.htm

To combat complaints of boredom on Line 9, which features long distancees between stations and waits between trains, the Metro company is instituting China's first "traveling library". Every Line 9 station service center will have a set of shelves offering selected magazine and newspapers for free borrowing, which passengers can then return when they walk through the exit turnstiles at their destination. http://society.people.com.cn/GB/41158/7736279.html


http://pic.yupoo.com/shpubtrans/176836187eba/medium.jpg

http://www.straitstimes.com/Latest%2BNews/Singapore/STIStory_265179.html

That's some good service, subways aren't usually boring (no pun intended) but you get a library to read! Wow, probably will only work in Singapore though, civic responsibility isn't very high in many other places.

Housing project in Angola


Project duration : 2008-2011
Cost : 3.535 billion U.S. dollars

LUANDA, Sept. 1 (Xinhua) -- China International Trust and Investment Corporation (CITIC) has started the construction of a housing project valued at 3.535 billion U.S. dollars in Angola, a senior official from CITIC told Xinhua on Monday.

Chang Zhenming, general manger of CITIC, said the housing project, the largest of its kind China has ever contracted abroad, will turn a backward rural area into a modern satellite town of Angola's capital Luanda with a population of over 200,000

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/...ent_9753055.htm (http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-09/02/content_9753055.htm)

China to increase investment in Africa to US$80 bln in 2008

China will increase its investment in Africa to US$80 billion this year, up from US$70 billion of 2007, the Zambia National Broadcasting Corp (ZNBC) reported.

China and Africa, especially Zambia, maintain strategic partners in trade relations, said Chai Zhijing, director in charge of West Asian and African Affairs in the Ministry of Commerce.

The Chinese government will support investments benefiting people in both countries, said Chai adding that the Chinese government has set up a credit facility, the China-Africa Development Fund, to help Chinese enterprises invest in various business sectors of Zambia.

Chai noted Zambia is a popular investment destination thanks to its abundant natural resources.

Analysts estimate China is likely to invest up to US$900 million in the copper mine of Zambia by 2010, as the country has been seeking more resources to bolster economic development.

http://www.chinaknowledge.com/News/news-detail.aspx?cat=&ID=19486

That's some good service, subways aren't usually boring (no pun intended) but you get a library to read! Wow, probably will only work in Singapore though, civic responsibility isn't very high in many other places.

the travelling library refers to line 9 in Shanghai.

[QUOTE=02tonyl;24038874][size=5][b]Russia: The Baltic Pearl

wow!! great projects China!!! i like the Baltic Pearl is amazing!

the travelling library refers to line 9 in Shanghai.

Yeah, thanks for catching my mistake, I didn't realize at first the two articles were unrelated.

Just as China became a premier builder of roads in other developing countries, it's no surprise that China will now be an exporter of high speed rail construction.

Contract doesn't include rolling stock or stations.


China Rail Cons wins part of $1.8 bln Saudi deal
Wed Mar 4, 2009 11:31am GMT

* Saudi Arabia awards $1.8 bln railway infrastructure deal

* China Railway Construction part of winning consortium

* Railway to link Jeddah with Islamic sites Mecca and Medina (Adds details throughout, background, context)

By Souhail Karam

RIYADH, March 4 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has awarded a 6.79 billion riyal ($1.8 billion) infrastructure contract to a consortium including a unit of China Railway Construction Corp (0390.HK: Quote, Profile, Research)(601390.SS: Quote, Profile, Research) for a railway to the kingdom's holy sites.

The contract, which covers ground and civil engineering works, is the first of several to be awarded for the 450 kilometre (279.6 mile) high-speed rail linking the Red Sea port city of Jeddah to Mecca and Medina -- Islam's two holiest sites.

China Railway Construction subsidiary China Railway 18th Bureau Group and two Saudi firms, including Al Arrab Contracting Co, are part of the winning consortium, contractors said at a signing ceremony in Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The project aims to ease the congestion on the road linking the two cities and reduce the duration of the road trip, the transport ministry said in a document describing the railway.

Millions of Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy, each year to perform annual Islamic pilgrimage rituals.

Saudi Arabia expects the number of worshippers travelling to Mecca and Medina to more than double to 14 million per year by 2030 from 5.5 million in 2005, the transport ministry said.

Carrying at least three million people a year, the railway, which will be operated by the state-controlled Saudi Railways Org, is due for completion by the end of 2012, Saudi Minister of Finance Ibrahim al-Assaf told reporters.

"This project will benefit millions of Muslims from around the globe", he said.

Saudi Arabia has pledged to keep public spending high to sustain its economy through the global financial crisis that has sent much of the industrialised world into recession and forced it to project a budget deficit this year.

The world's top oil exporter amassed an enormous cushion of surplus revenues from crude exports during an economic boom spurred by a rally in oil prices. Crude prices have slumped to about a quarter of their peak of $147 a barrel, reached last July.

MILLIONS OF PILGRIMS

Saudi Arabia will finance the project through the state-owned Public Investment Fund, Mansour al-Maiman, secretary-general of the fund, told reporters.

China Railway's share of the infrastructure works deal is 21.25 percent, according to Ibrahim al-Rajhi, board member of al-Rajhi Investment Group, which is involved in leading the consortium's bids.

Al Arrab will get 63.75 percent of the contract's value and another local firm 15 percent, he told Reuters. He said Alstom (ALSO.PA: Quote, Profile, Research), French maker of TGV trains, would bid for the locomotives tender, without saying when that would happen.

A tender for five train stations would take place in the third or fourth quarter of 2009, Rajhi added.

The railway will include a station at Jeddah's airport, the main arrival point for Muslim worshipers.

The transport ministry said the trains, which would travel at 320 kilometres per hour, would reduce by more than half to two hours the length of time it takes to travel by car from Jeddah to Medina, Islam's second holiest site.

It would also cut to 30 minutes the time it takes to transport worshippers from Jeddah to Mecca, home to the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site. (Writing by Daliah Merzaban in Dubai; Editing by Rupert Winchester)

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=686802

Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

What a coincidence!

Wondering if any of you could translate in English, the wordings on the black marble plate & the white erect memorial for 82 Chinese workers who died building KKH on border with Pakistan.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3177/2853240302_e50e6f5085_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2853240308_d08fabb53a_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3055/2851172914_cdfb1d2208_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2853240306_e797152336_o.jpg

Thanks

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=33404590#post33404590

Guineans are increasingly suspicious of Chinese investment. Many people see Chinese companies as being just as exploitative as Western ones, if not more so. After the military took power in December, it raided Chinese companies suspected of selling fake medicines, but the raids degenerated into open looting of Chinese businesses, tapping a vein of resentment long suppressed.

I've been through much of Africa and I won't be surprised if this is the fate of most Chinatowns in Africa.

Locals everywhere were outspoken about their grievances and assumed I was some kind of emissary.



NEW YORK TIMES
As Chinese Investments in Africa Drop, Hope Sinks
By LYDIA POLGREEN

CONAKRY, Guinea — Chinese and Guinean workers toil shoulder to shoulder on a sun-blasted construction site at this crumbling city’s edge, building the latest symbol of an old and sturdy alliance: a $50 million, 50,000-seat stadium.

This city is littered with such tokens of a friendship that first flowered when Guinea was an isolated and struggling socialist state in the late 1950s.

But so far Guinea has not gotten what it really wants from the world’s fastest growing economy: a multibillion-dollar deal to build desperately needed infrastructure in exchange for access to the impoverished nation’s vast reserves of bauxite and iron ore.

As global commodity prices have plummeted and several of China’s African partners have stumbled deeper into chaos, China has backed away from some of its riskiest and most aggressive plans, looking for the same guarantees that Western companies have long sought for their investments: economic and political stability.

“The political situation is not very stable,” Huo Zhengde, the Chinese ambassador here, said in an interview, explaining the country’s hesitation to invest billions in Guinea, where a junta seized power after the death of the longtime president in December. “The international markets are not favorable.”

Just a year ago China appeared to be upending the decades-old order in Africa, stepping into the void left by large Western companies too timid to invest in the continent’s resource-rich but fragile states as the market for copper, tin, oil and timber soared to new heights. In the new scramble for Africa’s riches, China sought a hefty share.

With a no-strings-attached approach and a strong appetite for risk, China seemed to offer Africa a complete economic and political alternative to the heavily conditioned aid and economic restructuring that Western countries and international aid agencies pressed on Africa for years, often with uninspiring consequences. Rising China, seeking friends and resources, seemed to be issuing blank checks.

Today, China’s quest for commodities has not stalled. State-owned companies are bargain-hunting for copper and iron ore in more stable places like Zambia and Liberia. But Chinese companies are now driving harder bargains and avoiding some of the most chaotic corners of the continent. African governments facing falling revenues are realizing that they may still need the West’s help after all.

“We have seen in the recent past Chinese companies wade into countries nobody else would,” said Philippe de Pontet, an analyst at the Eurasia Group, a private research firm. “That may be changing.”

In 2007 China announced a $9 billion deal with Congo for access to its giant trove of copper, cobalt, tin and gold in exchange for developing roads, schools, dams and railways needed to rebuild a country roughly the size of Western Europe and shattered by more than a decade of war.

But that deal is now in doubt as falling prices have left Congo in a much weaker negotiating position. It also suddenly finds itself needing the help of the International Monetary Fund, which has objected to writing off the country’s old debt even as Congo takes on what amounts to new mineral-backed loans from China. Congo’s political and ethnic turmoil remains deep, and its economy is near collapse.

A year ago those factors seemed irrelevant. Chinese companies did not flinch from making deals to search for oil in the pirate-infested waters off Somalia, or to mine industrial metals in places like Zimbabwe.

Unlike many Western companies, Chinese state oil companies had no qualms about doing business with the government of Sudan, which has become an international pariah because of the conflict in Darfur.

China espoused a new model for African investment: mutually beneficial trade between sovereign nations with none of the meddling so common among Western donors and investors, with their demands for labor and environmental standards, as well as respect for democracy and human rights.

These policies proved popular among African governments, and trade between Africa and China grew to more than $100 billion by 2008, from less than $10 million in the 1980s. African leaders spoke openly about China’s offer of an alternative to the edicts of Western-dominated institutions like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.

But here in Guinea, which has some of the world’s largest deposits of bauxite, an ore needed for making aluminum, that hope has all but collapsed.

“The Chinese have changed their strategy,” said Ibrahima Sory Diallo, a senior economist in Guinea’s Ministry of Finance and an advocate for Chinese investment. “They are not going to inject $5 billion into an unstable country in an uncertain market climate.”

French colonists once called Guinea a geological scandal, so rich are its deposits of valuable minerals. Despite years of mining and billions in profits, Guinea remains one of the poorest and least developed countries in Africa.

So it is no surprise that Guinea’s government, first under Lansana Conté, the strongman who ruled for 24 years until his death last year, and the junta that replaced him, wanted to tap China’s cash and building expertise.

China’s approach to securing minerals in Africa has been to sign agreements to build huge projects in exchange for minerals. In Angola, this kind of arrangement has guaranteed Chinese access to oil in Africa’s second largest oil producer, which is now booming after emerging tattered and broke from a vicious civil war that lasted decades. Chinese and Angolan officials trumpeted this partnership as a model for Chinese investment in the continent, a win-win relationship benefiting both countries.

But that formulation has proved problematic in an economic downturn. African governments are now realizing that these deals are in essence loans against future revenue, and falling prices could leave them saddled with giant piles of debt.

That is what appears to have happened in Congo. At current prices Congo would struggle to meet the stringent production targets in the Chinese deal, said Patricia Feeney, executive director of Rights and Accountability in Development, a Britain-based advocacy group.

“The Congolese have raised expectations so much that they could rely on Chinese and turn their backs on Western donors, and in the process they have probably managed to alienate people who were willing to help,” Ms. Feeney said.

In Guinea, China has backed away from what Guinean officials portrayed as a done deal to build a much-needed $1 billion hydroelectric dam.

“The dam is not a gift; it is an investment,” said Mr. Huo, the Chinese ambassador. “That is what win-win means.”

Guineans are increasingly suspicious of Chinese investment. Many people see Chinese companies as being just as exploitative as Western ones, if not more so. After the military took power in December, it raided Chinese companies suspected of selling fake medicines, but the raids degenerated into open looting of Chinese businesses, tapping a vein of resentment long suppressed.

Hamidou Condé works bare-chested under the relentless sun, digging a hole for the foundation of a new hospital being built by a Chinese company, yet another symbol of Chinese-Guinean friendship.

Mr. Condé, 35, who has two wives and four children, said that he had been digging in the hard rock with a shovel, pick and ax for two months, but that he had yet to receive any pay from his Chinese taskmasters.

“We work like slaves,” Mr. Condé said. “And like slaves we are not paid. The Chinese bring nothing good to Guinea.”

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3269/2853240308_d08fabb53a_o.jpg
"Memorial Cemetery for the Chinese Martyrs in Pakistan"

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3237/2853240306_e797152336_o.jpg
Right column: "Highway built by Pakistan Assisted by China"
Middle column: "Monument of the Glorious Sacrifice by the Comrades"
Left column: "June 1978"

Chinese bank to fund Ecuador's biggest hydroelectric project

2009-04-03

Ecuadorian President Rafael Corre met with representatives from China Development Bank on Thursday to discuss the Chinese company's $1 billion investment in the construction of Ecuador's biggest hydroelectric plant.

The first part of the investment would arrive in 60 days, Diego Borja, coordination minister for economic policy of Ecuador, said at a press conference.

Last September, the Ecuadorian government announced a plan to build Ecuador's biggest hydroelectric plant Coca-Codo-Sinclair, which would have a capacity of 1,500 Megawatts.

The plant will be located some 75 kilometers east to Quito and will cost about $2 billion.

Chinese company Sinohydro-Andes will provide 85 percent of the cost, through the Export-Import Bank of China.

The remaining 15 percent will be funded by Ecuador and Argentina.

Ecuador has been troubled by power shortages, it spent roughly $26.9 million on importing electricity from Colombia in 2008, according to a report issued by the National Center for Energy Control in January.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2009-04/03/content_7647636.htm