Chinese company commits to capacity building in Rwanda

KIGALI - Chinese companies are not only constructing infrastructure projects in Africa but also committing to capacity building of local people and companies, a Chinese company to Rwanda said on Monday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Wang Lei, general manager of China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in Rwanda, said the most pressing issue now is to encourage local enterprises for construction to improve their efficiency in service delivery.

"This is because; some local companies have shown sign of weakness as the consequence of lack of qualified resources in terms of qualified engineers and appropriate equipment to deliver quality construction service," Wang said.

He said he saw more than one case in which government decided to suspend contract of some local construction companies for failure to comply with the terms of contract in term of time delivery and quality product.

"The needs are enormous because there have been a number of unfinished projects, and Chinese companies have always been hiring local sub-contractors companies to work together, as part of efforts to learn from each other," Wang said.

Furthermore, CCECC offered great contribution to local employment, currently there are about 2,000 local people employed by CCECC, according to Wang.

CCECC has also made great effort to the capacity building of local people. "We have trained a great number of skilled worker to work in the infrastructure construction, meanwhile we also let some good students from technical school to practice on our company," Wang said.

"As an experienced contractor, China Civil Engineering Construction is now trying to help those local companies to grow and be able to operate in a regional and international competitive market."

Chinese companies have been involved at different levels of infrastructure development in Rwanda since last four decades, ranging from roads, stadium, and government offices.