A view of the Suvira sewage treatment plant.
Photo by Zhang Qing.
Little Engineer" on a tour of the airport project.
Photo by Chen Kun. Iraq is an important partner of China in the Belt and Road Initiative. In recent years, the practical cooperation between China and Iran has been deepened and solidified, and Chinese-funded enterprises in Iran have actively integrated into the local economic and social development, built a number of livelihood projects, participated in the construction of local communities, and cultivated localized professionals, bringing tangible benefits to the two countries and peoples, and contributing to the promotion of people-to-people ties between China and Iran and the deepening of the China-Iran strategic partnership.
"When the environment improves, our lives will get better and better".
In Suwila City, Wasit Province, Iraq, the first phase of the Suvira Wastewater Treatment Project, undertaken by China Energy Gezhouba Group, was officially put into operation in June 2023. The first phase of the project is mainly composed of 347It consists of 9 km of pipe network, 7 lifting pumping stations and a sewage treatment plant. After the project was put into operation, the problems caused by the lack of supporting infrastructure caused by the direct discharge of domestic sewage and the lack of discharge of stagnant water in the rainy season have been greatly alleviated.
On the streets of Suvila, the owner of the supermarket, Have, greeted his Chinese friends warmly: "Since the completion of the sewerage network project, the city has changed a lot, I have renovated my house and opened a supermarket. "When the environment improves, our lives will get better and better".”
Suvira Mayor Missack Hussein said that Suvira had drawn up an overall development plan 20 years ago, but the city could not be built in an orderly manner because the drainage problem had not been solved. The Chinese company has not only improved the local sewage treatment system, but also laid the foundation for the construction of the Agricultural Machinery Trading Business Park and the Deep Processing and Storage Industrial Park for Wheat and Date Palms in Suvila.
Farouk, a local resident of Suvila, has worked on the project for 10 years, growing from an ordinary driver to an assistant to the project leader. He said that when the security situation on the ground deteriorated, many international companies left Iraq or terminated their contracts, but Chinese companies chose to stick to it. These Chinese projects have not only solved the infrastructure bottlenecks faced by urban development, but also provided a large number of jobs and benefited many local people.
The Governor of Wasit Province, Mohamed Jamal Mayahi, has visited the project several times. "The project has solved the problem of drainage in Suvira for many years and has brought great benefits to the local people," he said. ”
Due to the successful progress of the first phase of the project, in November 2023, the second phase expansion project of the Suvira Wastewater Treatment Project officially started, which is still being built by Chinese enterprises.
"The arrival of Chinese enterprises provides us with development opportunities".
Recently, in the monthly appraisal of outstanding local employees held by the project department of the Halfaya natural gas processing plant in Iraq, the young fitter Shelal once again stood out from thousands of people. This is his fifth consecutive award. Holding the certificate, Shelal immediately reported the good news to his Chinese master, Chang Yao, a senior fitter in the project department.
The Halfaya Natural Gas Processing Plant project was constructed by PetroChina in response to the needs of Iraq's people's livelihood and was constructed by China Petroleum Engineering Construction. In order to help the local training of more skilled workers, the project department carried out the activity of "passing on the help and leading": arranging excellent Chinese skilled workers and local workers to form mentors and apprentices, covering scaffolders, bricklayers, fitters, riveters, plumbers, cranes, excavator drivers and other technical jobs. In order to ensure the training effect, the project department regularly holds assessment and evaluation every month to reward the top 10.
Due to the language barrier, at the beginning, the teaching work of Chang Yao and Shelal did not go smoothly. Chang Yao recalled: "Once, I asked Shelal to tighten the screws on the equipment, but when I came back from other work, I found that he had loosened all the screws. In order to break the language barrier, Chang Yao learned Arabic according to the work handbook issued by the project department, and taught Sheral to learn Chinese and English at work. Slowly, the communication between the master and the apprentice became smoother and smoother.
Shelal worked very hard, taught him a few more times, and then followed me to practice, and he quickly understood. Chang Yao never hesitates to praise the good performance of his apprentices. At work, Shelal always follows Chang Yao's side closely, takes notes carefully, and starts practicing whenever he has the opportunity. "Installation fitter is a type of work that works and learns all the time. As Sjalal grows, he will be able to share what he has learned with more local workers. Chang Yao said.
Jiang Feng, general manager of China Petroleum Engineering Construction Co., Ltd. in the Middle East, said that Iraq is making every effort to carry out economic reconstruction and needs a large number of technical personnel. Over the years, the company has created more than 6,000 jobs in Iraq. In the future, the company will continue to adhere to the concept of "doing a project, leaving a team" to cultivate more qualified talents for the local area.
Iraq is rich in resources, and the arrival of Chinese enterprises provides us with development opportunities. Shelal is full of confidence in the future, "I want to work hard to learn technology, become an excellent skilled worker, and contribute to the construction of my hometown." ”
"It will play an important role in promoting the economic development of Iraq".
In May 2023, at the construction site of the Nasiriyah International Airport project undertaken by China State Construction Group, hereinafter referred to as "China State Construction"), a group of "little engineers" were ushered in at the construction site of the Nasiriyah International Airport project in Iraq - children from the Nasiriyah City Welfare Institute put on reflective vests and hard hats to experience the construction of the first civil airport in Dhi Qar Province up close.
During the day's activities, the children, led by Chinese construction staff, participated in interactive games and observed the construction site. Three-year-old Abdu, the youngest, is often the first to raise his hand in response to questions. When asked about his dream, he said, "When I grow up, I want to fly and go to a lot of places. I want to go to China and see the world farther! Six-year-old Abbas enthused: "It's so cool here, the excavator and the crane are so much bigger than my toys." ”
In the painting activity, the children picked up various paintbrushes and painted the pattern of the airport's main terminal on the drawing paper in colorful colors. The main terminal is shaped like a date palm grove. Six-year-old Rahama carefully painted the "date palms" green and wrote on the drawing paper, "This is my home, you are welcome to come and visit." Nasser, director of the Nasiriyah City Welfare Institute, said that the event gave the children more opportunities for social practice and increased their understanding of Chinese culture and architectural knowledge, and thanked Chinese companies for organizing such activities.
The Nasiriyah International Airport project was signed by China State Construction and the Civil Aviation Authority of Iraq in June 2021, and is the first airport project undertaken by a Chinese enterprise in Iraq after the war. The project includes a series of supporting facilities such as the terminal, control tower, star-rated hotel, cargo warehouse, 25-kilometer airport connection line, and upgraded running track. With an annual passenger flow of 750,000 passengers and a long-term planned annual passenger flow of 2 million, the project will become an aviation center in southwest Iraq, greatly improving regional transportation conditions and boosting economic development.
Liu Feilong, the project manager, said that the local people are very concerned about the progress of the project, and the project often organizes volunteer services, Sino-Iranian cultural exchanges, school-enterprise cooperation and community co-construction, and many local people participate in each time.
In July 2023, 13 interns from Dhi Qar University in Iraq came to the Nasiriyah International Airport project to participate in a one-month series of school-enterprise cooperation activities, which aim to cultivate high-quality construction talents for Iraq. Adna, Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Dhigar University, said: "The experience of Chinese companies offering internships to university students is valuable and unforgettable. I believe that the students will succeed in their studies, and they also hope that the completion of the airport will play an important role in promoting the economic development of Iraq. ”
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani and Cabinet Secretary-General Hamid Ghazi visited the project, and Sudani said: "Nasiriyah International Airport is a major livelihood project in Iraq, and I am grateful to Chinese companies for bringing advanced technology and experience, and look forward to the early delivery of the project." ”
Not long ago, the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce of Chinese-funded Enterprises released the "Report on the Sustainable Development of Chinese Enterprises in Iraq", which showcased the fruitful achievements of China-Iran in the Belt and Road Initiative by introducing key projects and typical cases of Chinese-funded enterprises in Iraq to fulfill their economic, environmental and social responsibilities. Chen Qi, Secretary-General of the Iraqi Chamber of Commerce of Chinese Enterprises, said that Chinese enterprises in Iraq will continue to work hand in hand with the Iraqi people to continue to promote the development of local industries, help improve people's livelihood and share the fruits of development.
Chinese Ambassador to Iraq Cui Wei said that China and Iraq are each other's important economic and trade partners, and the cooperation between the two countries in the fields of oil and gas, electric power, transportation and telecommunications has achieved remarkable results. China is ready to work with Iran to promote high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, continue to create a new situation for development, and open up a bright future for bilateral relations.
Li Jihong, Wen Wenjun, and Chen Zulin participated in the writing).