Construction firm plans expansion in US

China State Construction Engineering Corp, the world's largest investment and construction group by revenue, is planning a big expansion in the United States, a senior executive said.

"Many of the opportunities will come from increasing demand for upgraded infrastructure projects, which are focused on sustainable development in urbanization, real estate projects, service and communication sectors," said Yuan Ning, president of China Construction America Inc, a subsidiary of CSCEC.

Strategic Capital, the investment and development platform of CCA, launched its first development project located in the Hudson Square neighborhood of Manhattan in May. With a national portfolio in excess of $1 billion, the deal signifies Strategic Capital's first foray into the residential market in Manhattan.

The site is located at 110 Charlton Street and 537 Greenwich Street and when completed will be a 26,000-square-meter tower with 170 residential units, ground floor retail and parking.

Strategic Capital officially launched its sales at Park and Shore in Jersey City, New Jersey, in September. As the first waterfront condo development on the Hudson River in Jersey City in the past eight years, Park and Shore brings a Manhattan style across the river and defines luxury full-service life-style.

After implementing years of localization strategy, CCA is among the top 10 bridge contractors and top 25 building constructors in the US.

In the past decade, CCA has achieved an annual growth rate of more than 40 percent. Its total new contract value amounted to $9 billion by 2015, up 189 percent from the levels five years ago.

It has completed a number of commercial and government projects in the US, such as the Pulaski Skyway in New Jersey, the Yankee Stadium Train Station in New York and the Staten Island Expressway, which connects Staten Island to Brooklyn and New Jersey and is considered one of the most congested roads in New York City.

As one of the top three builders in New York and in South Florida, the Chinese company also constructed many high-rises in the US, which includes Madison Square Park Tower in Manhattan and 1,000 Museum Luxury Condominium in Miami, which was recently featured on Engineering News Record.

"The localization strategy has played an important role in gaining favorable impression from the US society," said Yuan.

Founded in 1985, CCA now has around 2,000 employees, of whom 98 percent are local people.

"I like to work at CCA, which is no different from working at an American company," said Monica Lopez, a project engineer at CCA.

"Like US constructors, CCA also wants to hire capable employees and build safe and high-quality projects efficiently," said Lopez.

CSCEC is listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and was ranked 27th among Fortune Global 500 companies in 2016. The construction conglomerate has so far completed over 6,000 projects in some 130 countries and regions around the world.