Poor infrastructure has long been the Achilles' heel of many African countries, hampering economic development and impacting on people's daily lives. Providing infrastructure is therefore high on the agenda in Africa and one company heavily involved in this field is China's Sinohydro Group Ltd.

A leading company in the hydroelectric industry, Sinohydro has been committed to developing China's hydropower and harnessing water sources. It has built or been involved in the construction of 70 percent of China's large and medium-sized hydropower or water control projects with a cumulative installed capacity of nearly 130 million kw. With nearly 70 percent of domestic hydropower market share, Sinohydro went public in October 2011. Up to the end of 2011, its total assets amounted to 95.6 billion yuan ($15.1 billion).

The core competitiveness accumulated in the domestic market enabled Sinohydro's outstanding performance in the oversea arena. The company signed construction contracts and launched economic and technological cooperation with over 62 countries and regions in Asia, Africa and America. Currently, it has set up 71 representative agencies and branches in more than 58 countries, running about 311 projects with a total contract amounting to $29.2 billion and with businesses covering hydropower stations, airports and highways constructions. At the end of 2011, oversea business revenue reached $43.9 billion.

Sinohydro in Africa

Sinohydro began to explore the African market in the early 1980s. In recent years, its business on the continent has taken off. According to Ding Zhengguo, Assistant to the President of Sinohydro Group Ltd., there were 134 projects under construction worth nearly $14.2 billion in 24 African countries and about 10,000 employees working on these projects. "Our business network has almost covered the whole continent," Ding said at a conference about Sino-African economic cooperation held by China-Africa Economic and Technological Cooperation Committee in June 2011.

Projects undertaken by the company include the construction of dams, hydropower stations, urban water supply and rural irrigation systems, roads, schools and hospitals. "These projects are vital to the improvement of local people's livelihood, and thus are warmly welcomed by locals," Ding said. Taking Tekese Hydroelectric Station in Ethiopia for example, the double curvature dam with a height of 190 meters, the highest one under construction in Africa, will increase the country's electricity supply capacity by 30 percent.  

Ding added that through accumulated experiences in this field, Sinohydro had trained a large number of experts and technical personnel who were able to handle any hydroelectric project construction. "With advanced technological skills, the personnel lay a solid foundation for the quality of our projects," Ding said.

Some French, Belgian, Spanish and Brazilian companies are also engaged in infrastructure construction in Africa. "Our competitiveness is obvious. Chinese workers are hardworking, being willing to work in remote areas with harsh living conditions where workers from other countries may be reluctant to go," Wang Anquan, Director of Department II of Sinohydro Corp. Ltd. told ChinAfrica. "Chinese enterprises are highly regarded by local people as the [infrastructure] projects are built with high quality but with lower cost compared with Western companies," he added.