BeforetheDjiplohoHydropowerStationwasbuilt,DjiplohowasasecludedforestvillageinEquatorialGuinea.ThechangehasshoneaspotlightontheRioweleRiver,nowquiteliterallythecenterofpower.
LiuBao,GeneralManageroftheSinohydroBureauSixCo.Ltd.ofthePowerConstructionCorp.ofChinaandalsotheChiefSupervisoroftheDjiplohoHydropowerStationproject,saidthepowerplantsatisfiesmorethan90percentofthecountry鈥檚electricitydemandandhaspromotedthecountry鈥檚industrialandagriculturalgrowthwiththehelpoftheBatagrid.
鈥淲hocouldhaveimaginedthatinthedesolateprimaryforest,agroupofChinesefriendswithaloveforEquatorialGuineaareconstructingsuchagrandproject?鈥漚skedTeodoroObiangNguemaMbasogo,PresidentofEquatorialGuinea,atthecornerstonelayingceremonyofthepowerplantinDecember2008.
In2014,theMinistryofIndustryandEnergyinEquatorialGuineasignedandissuedthecertificateoftransferofDjiplohoHydropowerStationtotakeovertheproject.Intheprocess,EquatorialGuineabecameoneofthefirstAfricancountriestobenefitfromtheBeltandRoadInitiativebyhavingitsinfrastructurebuilt.
Thefirsthydropowerstation
LiustillremembersthefirsttimehevisitedDjiplohoVillageinJune2007withhiscolleaguestoinvestigatelocalconditionsforbuildingthepowerplant.Theywerefullyequipped,wearingshirtswithlongsleeves,tightpantsandbootsandcarryingtoolssuchasmachetes,axes,spadesandsaws.Therattansweavedsuchathicknetbetweentheupperpartsofthetalltreesstandingclosetoeachotherthattheycouldn鈥檛seetheskyabovethem.Below,theshrubsandweedsbetweenthetreesmadeitimpossibletowalkwithoutusingmachetestoclearapath.
AfteraninvestigationofmultipleriversintheCentral-WestAfricancountry,LiufoundthatEquatorialGuineaisrichnotonlyinoil,butalsowaterresources.
Comparedwithoilwhichmaybecomeexhaustedasaresultofexcessiveexploitation,waterhasthepotentialforlong-termexploitationandcanbeusedasacleanrenewableenergy.鈥淭obuildhydropowerplantsbymakingfulluseofwaterresourcesnotonlysatisfiesEquatorialGuinea鈥檚demandforelectricitybutalsoforexportingelectricitytootherWesternAfricancountries,鈥滾iutoldChinAfrica,addingthathewasfortunatetohavemetwithPresidentMbasogo,whoincludedhishydropowerideasinthecountry鈥檚2020economicdevelopmentplan.
Liu鈥檚teampaidspecialattentiontoenvironmentalprotectionduringtheconstructionofthepowerplant.
鈥淲eplacedgreatemphasisonenvironmentalprotectionduringourconstructionandourenvironmentalimpactassessmentreportwaspassedbylocalauthorities,鈥漵aidLiu.Duringconstructionasfewtreesaspossiblewerecutandallthewastewaterunderwentsedimentationbeforebeingdischarged.Garbageclassificationwasalsopracticed,saidLiu.
Thestrictenvironmentalprotectionmeasureswerewelcomedbylocalgovernmentandthelocalcommunity.TheDjiplohoHydropowerStationhasnowbecomethefirsthydropowerstationinEquatorialGuineatoendthecountry鈥檚relianceonoilforpowergeneration,heraldingthedawnofgreenenergy.
Socialchange
Thepowerplanthasbroughtaseriesofunexpectedchangestothecountry.AlthoughtheinfrastructureconstructionofEquatorialGuineastartedlate,localgovernmentiscommittedtoimprovingeducationandestablishedanumberofschoolsnationwide.However,limitedaccesstoelectricityhamperedlocalstudents鈥檒earningprogress.
Awareofitssocialresponsibility,since2007Liu鈥檚companydonated$2milliontobuildseveralprimaryschoolsandatechnologyschool.Ithasalsodonatedschoolmaterialsonaregularbasis,andthusdevelopedagoodrelationshipwithvillagersinthearea.
However,itisthehydropowerplantandtherenovationandexpansionprojectoftheBatagridthatcompletelychangedlocalpeople鈥檚lives.TheBatagridprojectenabledelectricitygeneratedbytheDjiplohoHydropowerStationtobetransmittedtourbanandruralareasofEquatorialGuinea,whichhashelpedtransformthewayofteachinginlocalschools.
Localchildrenarenowabletohaveaccesstolight,watchfilmsandlocalTVprograms.TheylearnedaboutChinesekungfu,martialartmasterBruceLeeandChina鈥檚ThreeGorgesDamthroughfilms.
SeveralseniorvillagershaveretainedtheconstructiontoolsandequipmentgiventothembyChineseworkerswhohelpedbuildthefirstsmallhydropowerstationinBataCityinthe1970s.TheyrecountedformerChineseleadersMaoZedongandZhouEnlai鈥檚friendshipwithEquatorialGuineaandtheimprovementoftheirlivelihoodsbroughtbythehydropowerplant.
DjiplohoHydropowerStationinEquatorialGuineaCOURTESYPHOTOS
LiuBao(secondrightfrontrow)introducesDjiplohoHydropowerStationtoofficialsoftheEquatorialGuineaGovernmentAnotherareaofimprovementhasbeenintheagriculturalsector.
鈥淎gricultureisunderdevelopedinEquatorialGuin-eabecausethecountrymainlyconsistsofmountainousareaswhichareunsuitableforthegrowthofcrops,鈥滾iusaid.
Inordertopromotelocaleconomicgrowth,heinvitedChineseagriculturalexpertstohelpEquatorialGuineaplanitshusbandrydevelopmentwiththehelpoftheChineseEmbassyinthecountry.Aproductionchainofmeat,eggsandmilkwasformedbydevelopingthedairyandpoultryindustries.Liualsosuggestedproducingcannedfoodandindustrialstarchbytakingadvantageoftheabundantoutputofpineapplesandcassavainthecountry.
Technologicaltraining
Toreducetherelianceoflocalsonforeignexpertise,Liuhasbeenabigadvocateofpromotingtechnologytransferandstrengtheningtechnologicaltraining.GiventhattherewasnotrainingschoolforelectricpowertechnologyinEquatorialGuinea,Liuappliedfor$1.26millionfromthePowerConstructionCorp.ofChinatobuildthecountry鈥檚firsttechnologytrainingschoolforthestudyofelectricity.
InadditionhehaslookedaheadandestablishedajointtrainingprogrambetweenChinaandEquatorialGuineaforhydropowerplantoperationandmanagementstaff.Undertheprogram,thePowerConstructionCorp.ofChinadonatedmorethan$1.5milliontofund53youthfromEquatorialGuineatohavetwotofiveyears鈥檛rainingonhydropowerplantmanagementinuniversitiesandtrainingcentersinChina.InMay2013,thefirstbatchof35studentsgraduatedandbeganworking,whichgreatlyimprovedEquatorialGuinea鈥檚self-managementofitsindustries.
鈥淲efocusedonpromotingthelocalizedmanagementofthehydropowerprojectandhiredlocalpeopletotakepartintheconstruction,鈥漵aidLiu.Byparticipatingintheconstruction,localemployeesmasteredvarioustechnicalskillssuchasequipmentoperation,electricalengineering,welding,drilling,concretepouring,andsteelbarmakingandinstallation.Theprojectcreatedjobsforlocalsandthusimprovedtheirlives.
Withhisardentinterestinyouthdevelopment,since2009,Liuhasbeenbusyrecruitinglocaluniversitystudentstoparticipateinprojectmanagementandconstructionoftheprojectineverysummervacation.Inadditiontosalaries,studentswhoexcelareassistedwiththeirtuitionfees.
Forhisdedication,Liuhasreceivedthecountry鈥檚highestcivilianhonorandhasbecomeacelebratedfigureamonghiscurrentandformeremployees.
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