“TherailwayiscapableofslashingjourneytimesbetweenAddisAbabaandDjiboutifromsevendaysbyroadtoaround10hours.”
AtrainsetsoutonatestrunalongtheAddisAbaba–DjiboutiRailwayonAugust15,2016.ONOctober5,2016,theAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwaywasopenedatLabuStation,markingitsofficiallaunchofoperations.BuiltbytheChinaRailwayEngineeringCorporation(CREC)andChinaRailwayConstructionCorporation(CRCC),therailwaylinkstheEthiopiancapitalAddisAbabawiththeportofDjibouti,oneofthelargestportsinEastAfrica.
Africa’sFirstTransnationalElectrifiedRailway
FuXunisthegeneralmanageroftheCREC’sAd-disAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayproject.SincecomingtoEthiopiain2012,hehaswitnessedthewholeconstructionprocessfrombeginningtoend.
“TherailwayiscapableofslashingjourneytimesbetweenAddisAbabaandDjiboutifromsevendaysbyroadtoaround10hours,”saidFu.SincegraduatingfromChangshaRailwayUniversityin1985,therailwayengineerhasbeenonthefrontlineofconstructioninChina.
Fucouldnotrememberthenumberofrailwayconstructionprojectshehasbeeninvolvedinoverthepastthreedecades,buttheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailway,hesaid,wouldbetheoneheismostproudofandonehewillcertainlyneverforget.
AtotalinvestmentofUS$4billionwasputinto752.7kmrailwayhas45stationsandtrainsaredesignedtorunatspeedsofupto120kmperhour.ThisisthefirstoverseasrailwaybuiltsolelybyChineseenterprisesandmanydifferentChinesecompanieswereinvolvedintheproject:TheExport-ImportBankofChinaprovidedfunding;CRECwastheEPC(engineering,procurementandconstruction)contractor;andChinaInternationalEngineeringConsultingCorporationactedasconsultantandsupervisor.
FIRST
ThisisthefirstoverseasrailwaybuiltsolelybyChineseenterprises.
CustomerserviceattendantsontheAddisAbaba–DjiboutiRailwayundertaketraining.TherailwayisthesecondtransnationalrailwaybuiltbyChinesefirmsinAfrica.ThefirstwastheTazaraRailwaybuiltinthe1970s,linkingDaresSalaaminTanzaniawithKapiriMposhiinZambia.DuringavisittoEthiopiainMay2013,ChineseVicePremierWangYanghailedtheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayasthe“TazaraRailwayforanewera.”YetunliketheTazaraRailway,whichwasfundedbytheChinesegovernment,theAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayisacommercialventurebyChinesefirms.
WhenEthiopiafirstdecidedtobuildanewrailway,theyinvitedexpertsfromSwitzerland,Australia,andotherdevelopedcountriestoconductasurvey.Theexperts,fromatechnicalpointofview,concludedthatconstructinganelectrifiedrailwayfromtheflatdesertlandaroundDjiboutirightuptotheEthiopianPlateauwasanimpossibletask.
CRECtooktheinitiative,contactingEthiopianofficialswithgeologicalandhydrologicaldatafortheproposedroute,collectedbytechnicianswithChinaRailwayNo.2GroupandChinaRailwayEryuanEngineeringGroup.Usingtheirrichexperienceinrailwayconstruction,thetwogroupssubmittedahigh-qualityprojectfeasibilityreportandpreliminarydesignplantotheEthiopianRailwayCompany,whicheventuallywonthemtheEPCcontract.
Duringconstruction,theChineseengineersandworkersmanagedtofindsolutionstootherproblemstoo,suchasalackofsupplieslocally,longtransittimesforimportedequipmentandgoods,poormedicalfacilities,differentcustoms,nottomentionthelanguagebarrier.Inthespaceofonly48months–fromthetimeconstructioncommencedinOctober2012,totheofficialinaugurationfouryearslater–amodernelectricrailwaywasunveiledtothepeoplesofbothnations.Thetrack-buildingtookonly13months,whichwasanewrecordinrailconstruction.
BenefitsforLocalPeople
Iman,ayoungEthiopianwoman,hasnevertravelledbytrainbefore,butwillworkaspurseronthenewrailwaywhenitbeginscommercialoperations.HerfamilyisproudofherroleonAfrica’sfirstelectrifiedrailway.
Iman’sbrotherisanengineerandin2013wasemployedtoworkonthegaugingoftheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayproject.ThismadeImandeterminedtobepartoftheprojecttoo.Aftergraduatingin2016,sheundertookcrewtrainingprovidedbyCRECandmadequickprogress,gainingemploymentwiththerailway.
AccordingtoFuXun,nearly40,000localworkerswerehiredduringtheconstructionoftherailway.Aftertheofficialopening,aconsortiumformedbyCRECandtheChinaCivilEngineeringConstructionCorporationwillmanagerailwayoperationsforsixyears.Theprojectwillalsoemploymorethan2,000localworkersinfreightandpassengertraffic,locomotivemaintenance,infrastructuremaintenance,andotherareas.
Giveamanafishandheeatsforaday.Teachhimhowtofishandheeatsforalifetime.TheChinesegovernmentandChinesecompaniesstressedtheimportanceoftraininglocalengineeringtalentduringtherailway’sconstruction.Morethan300employeesoftheEthiopianRailwayCompanyvisiteduniversitiesandtechnicalschoolsinBeijing,Tianjin,andChengdutofurthertheirprofessionalknowledgeofrailwayengineering,traindriving,andtrackmaintenance.
TadesseisoneofthedriverswiththeEthiopianRailwayCompanywhowasselectedfromhundredsofcandidatestoreceiveprofessionaltraininginChina.AfterayearinChina,hereturnedEthiopiatocontinuehisstudieswiththehelpofinstructorsatCREC.Tadesseisnowqualifiedtodriveatrainwithoutsupervision.Heappreciatedthein-depthtraininggivenbyChineseconductorsanddrivers,andhopestobeanexemplarytraindriverinthefuture.Atotalof136EthiopianrailwayworkerstrainedinChinawillbeemployedontherailway.
ChineserailwayengineersembracedthetaskofimprovinginfrastructureandpublicservicesasjustanotherpartoftheirjobinEthiopia.Ethiopiahasaprofusionofundergroundwatersources,butthisnaturalresourcewasnotefficientlyutilized.Inthedryseason,peopleinremoteareasstruggledtoaccessawatersupply.Theyhadtotravelseveralmilesjusttolocatesmallpondsleftafterrainydays.Tocreateacleansupplyofdrinkingwaterforpeoplelivingalongtherailway,CRECsentwatertrucks,installedapipeoutsidetheircampforthebenefitofnearbyvillagesanddugwellsforfreewhereconditionspermitted.
Chinesefirmshavedevelopedatrustingrelationshipwithlocalpeoplebyperformingcharitableactssuchasmakingdonationstostudents,doingclassroomrepairs,greeningandconstructingroadbed.CREChasbuiltmorethan400kilometersofroad,constructed19wells,established20distributionsitesprovidingdrinkingwatertovillages,andrepairedover2000sqmetersofschoolplayground.
Aseveredroughtoccuredattheendof2015,leavingmorethaneightmillionpeopleinurgentneedofemergencyfoodsupplies.AnumberofdifferentcountriesandinternationalorganizationssentaidshipmentstoEthiopia,includingChina,butthesesuppliesbecamestrandedintheportofDjiboutiduetoproblemswithroadtransport.AttherequestoftheEthiopiangovernment,Chinesecompaniesimmediatelydevelopedaplanfortemporaryfreighttransportation.TheydecidedtomaketheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayoperationalaheadoftime,anddeliveredmorethan100,000tonsofemergencysupplieswiththediesellocomotivesusedforconstruction.
ChineseworkerscheerattheAddisAbaba–DjiboutiRailwayprojectinaugurationceremonyonOctober5,2016.BoostingDevelopmentinEastAfrica
TheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwayhasbeenhailedasa“lifelineprogram.”LandlockedEthiopiareliesontheRedSeaportsofitsneighbor,Djibouti,asitsmaingatewayforimportsandexports.Thistrafficmakesupastaggering90percentofthethroughputatDjibouti’sports.Theonlylandrouteisadilapidatedroadwithlimitedcapacityandjourneyscantakeuptoaweek.Thenewrailwaywillreducejourneytimeto10hoursandwillbecomethemainchannelfortheexportofgoodsandtravelbetweenEthiopiaandtherestofEastAfrica.
XuShaoshi,specialenvoyofChinesePresidentXiJinpingandheadoftheNationalDevelopmentandReformCommission,attendedtheopeningoftheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailway.Hesaidtherailway–asthefirsttransnationalelectrifiedrailwayinAfrica–wasamilestoneinthedevelopmentofEthiopiaandDjibouti.ForChinaitrepresentsasymbolicachievementoftheBeltandRoadInitiativeandstandsasalandmarkprojectforSino-Africancooperationinbuildingthe“threemajornetworks”(railways,roads,andregionalaviation)toenableindustrialization.TherailwaywillbeacatalystfordevelopmentinEthiopiaandDjibouti.
ThePrimeMinisterofEthiopia,HailemariamDesalegn,andIsmailOmarGuelleh,thePresidentofDjibouti,respectivelyexpressedtheirhopesthattheAddisAbaba-DjiboutiRailwaywouldsignificantlypromotetheeconomicdevelopmentofbothcountriesandcreateaneconomiccorridoralongtheroute.Withmoredevelopmentopportunitiesintheseregions,EastAfricaisallsetforabrightnewlook.