Highway construction, promoting regional economic and social development (jointly building ＂Belt and Road＂ and highway construction)

　Bangladesh’s first elevated expressway invested and operated by Shandong, China Expressway Group — — The opening ceremony of Dhaka Airport Elevated Expressway Project (Phase I) was held in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, on September 2nd. After the project was opened to traffic, the traffic situation in Dhaka city was greatly improved. The picture shows the prospect of the elevated expressway project (Phase I) at Dhaka Airport in Bangladesh. Our reporter Sun Guangyong photo

　The Dakar BRT project in Senegal is the first urban BRT line in Senegal. This 18-kilometer-long road will pass through the most densely populated community and core business district in Dakar, which will help ease the traffic pressure in the capital. The picture shows local employees communicating at the project construction site. Xinhua News Agency reporter Li Yahui photo

　　At the Nairobi Expressway Monitoring Center in Kenya, the staff is monitoring the operation of vehicles. Photo by Zheng Wenjiao

　　Peshawar, Pakistan — Overlooking the Sukur-Multan section of Karachi Expressway. Li Gangshe

　　Overlooking the pavement works of El Es Pi Nuo Highway Project. Liu Kangning

By CITIC — The Algerian East-West Expressway, built by China Railway Construction Consortium, is 1216 kilometers long, connecting Tunisia in the east and Morocco in the west. Its completion and opening to traffic has great social and economic impact. The picture shows the W8 section of Algeria East-West Expressway. Peace photo

　　The key to building the "Belt and Road" is interconnection.

　　The sound of camel bells on the ancient Silk Road witnessed the prosperity of trade and people-to-people exchanges. Nowadays, the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" has continuously strengthened cooperation in transportation infrastructure, meeting the expectation of building a country and region with "all roads are accessible and all industries are prosperous". A series of highways are being built, completed and opened to traffic in the "One Belt, One Road" countries, outlining the picture of "people enjoy their travel and things flow smoothly", becoming a development road and a way to get rich, facilitating the travel of the general public and promoting regional economic and social development.

　　Nairobi Expressway in Kenya — —

　　"A model of cooperation in the field of road infrastructure construction"

　　"We can get to the airport in less than 20 minutes." After the vehicle drove into the expressway in Nairobi, Kenya, the driver Paul told reporters, "It used to take two hours to get from the city to the airport. Now that the expressway has been repaired, the toll station is also equipped with an electronic toll collection system (ETC), which reduces congestion and queuing, and the transit time is faster and more fuel-efficient. "

　　In the parking lot of Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi, the reporter saw many off-road vehicles to pick up and drop off passengers. During the tourist season in Kenya, the great migration of animals on the Masai Mara prairie attracts tourists from all over the world. Pauline, who works in a travel agency, told reporters: "Every time I came to the airport to meet tourists, I had a headache, so I had to set aside a lot of time. Now that there is an expressway, it is much faster to pick up and drop off tourists from the airport. "

　　"I used to take this route, either stuck on the way out or stuck on the way home." Kenyan African Policy Institute China — Dennis Munene, Executive Director of Africa Center, said with emotion that the opening of Nairobi Expressway has greatly changed this situation, effectively shortened commuting time, facilitated people’s travel, and promoted the development of transportation, tourism and other industries.

　　As a major project to implement the "Belt and Road Initiative", Nairobi Express Route China Road and Bridge Engineering Co., Ltd. to build — Operation — The handover model was developed in cooperation with the Kenyan government. The total length of the road is 27.1 kilometers, passing through Nairobi Central Business District, National Museum, National Stadium, Parliament Building and other important places. It is a fast-track connecting downtown Nairobi and Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. The project started construction in September 2020 and was put into operation on July 31, 2022. By the end of September this year, the cumulative number of vehicles passing through the expressway exceeded 22 million, and the average daily traffic on the expressway on weekdays reached 68,000. Nairobi Expressway also introduced ETC in Kenya for the first time, which further improved the traffic efficiency.

　　Nairobi Expressway has effectively promoted local employment. In the construction stage, the project has created more than 6,000 local jobs and cooperated extensively with more than 200 local subcontractors. During the operation period, the project hired more than 600 local employees and carried out in-depth localized management.

　　"Nairobi Expressway is one of the most important infrastructures in Kenya. The successful operation of the project has become a model for cooperation between Kenya and China in the field of road infrastructure construction, which will promote the realization of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and help Kenya’s economic and social development." Kungu Ndungu, director of the Kenya Expressway Authority, said.

　　Pakistan’s "Sumu Section" Expressway — —

　　"The completion and opening of the highway has changed our lives"

　　In the harvest season, Kaiza Abbas, a fruit grower in Multan, the hometown of mangoes in central Pakistan, is often as busy as a bee. "Mango sells well this year, and it is another bumper harvest year." Beside him, the newly picked mangoes are waiting for packing, and then they will be transported to Karachi port in the south and exported overseas.

　　However, a few years ago, every mango harvest season, Abbas would worry about transportation. Like many other growers, he needs to transport mangoes to Multan through the dirt road in the village, and then after dozens of hours of long-distance transportation, they can be transported to southern Sukur and other cities for processing or sales. Mango has a short fresh-keeping time and is not resistant to bumping. After bumping all the way, it is often seriously damaged.

　　In November 2019, an important transportation infrastructure project under the framework of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor — — Peshawar, Pakistan — Sukur-Multan section of Karachi Expressway (hereinafter referred to as "‘ Sumu section ’ The opening of the expressway has opened the north-south traffic artery in central Pakistan, greatly improving the local traffic conditions, and the vehicle transit time between the two places has been shortened from 11 hours to about 4 hours.

　　Now, Abbas no longer has to worry about the sales of mangoes. “‘ Sumu section ’ The completion of the expressway has changed our lives. " Recently, he is preparing to rent a refrigerated truck to transport mangoes to the northwest of China by land and through karakoram highway, which connects China and Pakistan, so as to open up new sales channels.

　　While building highways, enterprises in China have also built a large number of convenience facilities such as roads, wells, canals and bridges. In August, 2022, Pakistan was hit by floods, and Sukur was seriously affected. Many farmers’ cultivated land was flooded, and people were threatened by water-borne diseases. Knowing this situation, the Chinese maintenance team of the "Sumu Section" Expressway in Sukur immediately participated in the disaster relief operation, dispatched large-scale machinery and equipment to clear the accumulated water in cultivated land for farmers, repaired dams, and sent medical teams to make house calls in various villages, which won favorable comments from local people.

　　"With ‘ Sumu section ’ A series of highway projects such as expressways have been completed and put into operation, and Pakistan’s industrial competitiveness has been significantly improved. " Former Pakistani Finance Minister Mifta Ismail said that Pakistan and China have actively promoted the "Belt and Road" cooperation, and a series of high-standard highways have greatly improved the infrastructure level of Pakistan’s roads and enhanced the country’s export advantages in agriculture, textiles and other fields, which will also better promote Pakistan’s participation in international industrial cooperation.

　　Bolivian El Es Pi Nuo Highway — —

　　"The muddy and bumpy dirt road becomes a smooth road."

　　In Santa Cruz province, east of Bolivia, a South American country, a brand-new road winds into the distance among the rolling mountains. On September 21st, the El Ace Pi Nuo Highway, which was built by China Railway Corporation, was officially completed and opened to traffic.

　　The 159-kilometer El Es Pi Nuo Highway starts from El Es Pi Nuo in the north, passes through Zaragua, and reaches Boyuewe in the south, connecting the important agricultural and animal husbandry producing areas in the south of Santa Cruz Province. It is the core component of the passenger and freight dedicated line of Bolivian Highway No.36 and connects the international transportation trunk lines in South America.

　　The opening of the highway has brought great convenience to the local people’s travel. In this regard, Hallynck, the tribal leader in northern Zaragua, was deeply touched. "In the past, when it rained heavily, the road was muddy, and vehicles often rolled over, and rescue vehicles could not arrive in time. It is common for roads to be blocked for half a day or a day." Hallynck said that this situation will not happen again after the road is repaired. Thanks to this convenient transportation channel, the agricultural products produced by local farmers can be transported to other places more quickly and safely.

　　"The original muddy and bumpy dirt road will become an unimpeded smooth road, which will effectively accelerate the connectivity of eastern Bolivia." At the highway completion ceremony held not long ago, Bolivian President Luis Arce said in his speech that the completion of this highway is of historical significance, which will strongly promote the export of local agricultural products and promote the country’s economic and social development.

　　Edgar Montano, Bolivian Minister of Public Works, said that the areas along the highway are not only agricultural and animal husbandry production areas, but also have the potential to develop tourism. "El EspPi Nuo Highway will inject vitality into the economic development of Santa Cruz Province and radiate neighboring provinces."

　　Repairing roads for more than 15 kilometers for three tribes and two urban areas along the route, building small bridges for free, helping local people to build drinking reservoirs to cope with extreme climate, donating study and sports supplies for schools, and donating living materials to flood victims … … During the project construction, enterprises in China actively fulfilled their social responsibilities and served the local area, which was unanimously recognized by the people along the route. Katia is a sociologist in charge of the project’s loss compensation plan. She said: "China enterprises actively take actions to support community development and enhance people’s well-being, and China enterprises have a sense of responsibility and deserve respect."