"No matter how the situation changes, quality is always our top priority," said Wang.

Liao Xianqi, General Manager of the Overseas Engineering Co., a subsidiary of SRBG, said that a local newspaper, Eritrea Times, commented in a report on SRBG's performance: "This hardworking attitude is the reason for China's fast development and great achievements."  

Africa occupies an important position in the company's future plans. "Since the 1990s, the African continent has been a site for Chinese enterprises to work toward their ambitions to get internationally recognized," said Wang. In 2013, SRBG will shift focus more on its overseas business, which is expected to account for one third of its total turnover.

Socially responsible

As a Chinese enterprise exploring foreign markets, social responsibility in environmental and employment areas is of great concern of SRBG.

According to Liao, who has spent decades working on overseas construction sites, Chinese companies were not fully aware of the importance of environmental protection when they first ventured outside of China in the 1980s, but this soon changed as they gained more overseas experience.

"Some African countries are short on water," said Liao. "We must be very careful not to pollute local water resources, including both surface water and groundwater." He added that the company now strictly manages its industrial waste disposal.

In recent years, SRBG has created about thousands of jobs for Eritreans. The total number of local staff hired for SRBG projects in the country once peaked at over 1,000.  

Meanwhile, the company also managed to introduce new techniques through professional training courses designed to help local engineering personnel improve their skills.

"In both good times and bad, SRBG is always here," Eritrean Ambassador to China Tseggai Tesfazion told ChinAfrica. Tesfazion praised the company's work efforts on Eritrea's road construction projects, which continued despite the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia at the end of the last century. CA

SRBG's Projects in Eritrea

> Massawa Municipal Road Works, 1996

> Asmara Municipal Road Works, 2004

> Massawa Seawall Road Rehabilitation Project, 2005

> Asmara Optical Hospital Improvement Project, 2011

> Eritrean Technology College Improvement & Extension Project, 2012

> Eritrean Agriculture College Improvement & Extension Project, 2012