NewTechniques,NewIndustry
Kazakhstanistheworld’slargestlandlockedstateanditsvastlandspossessabundantresourceswithhugepotential.Historically,eventshaveconspiredtopreventthedevelopmentofitsindustrialbase,whichmeansthatdeepprocessingofnaturalresourcesisnotfeasible,leadingtoalossinaddedvalue.Consequentlythegovernmentisfocusingonindustrializationasameanstoachievethecountry’sdevelopmentgoals.
ChinesePresidentXiJinpingproposedtheconstructionoftheSilkRoadEconomicBeltduringhisvisittoKazakhstaninSeptember2013,andreceivedapositiveresponse.Theleadersofthetwocountriesreachedaconsensusonthealignmentoftheirrespectivenationaldevelopmentstrategies,andindicatedthattheyhavealreadybeguntoseethebenefitsoftheircooperationontheSilkRoadEconomicBelt.ManyChineseenterprisesarenowflourishinginvariousregionsofKazakhstan.
OPPORTUNTIES
Mostimportantly,theprojectwillbuildanewcityofindustryandtechnology,bringingfreshopportunitiestolocalpeopleandnearbyareas.
Thedressingplantatthecoppermine.
ThevulcanizingplantatthepetrochemicalworksinPavlodar.Attheendof2014,localKazakbusinessesmadetheprudentchoiceofsigningacontractworthUS$530millionwithChinaNon-ferrousMetalIndustry’sForeignEngineeringandConstructionCo.,Ltd.(NFC)tobuildacopperoredressingplant.TheChinesesideovercameanumberofdifficulties,suchastightconstructiondeadlines,aharshenvironment,andcomplexcustomsclearanceformalitiesforthenecessaryequipment.However,theinstallationofallequipmentisnowcomplete,andthefactorywillcommencefullproductionthismonth.
Uponenteringtheprojectsite,a3-km-longoreconveyorbelt,toweringworkshops,andhugeheapsofmineralsmeettheeye.AccordingtoWeiYuguang,generalmanagerofthemine’sgeneralaffairsdepartment,theprojectinvolvedpouring113,000cubicmetersofconcrete,hoisting17,000tonsofsteelwork,andlaying512,000metersofcable–ascaleofconstructioncurrentlyunmatchedbyanyotherChineseoverseasenterprise.Meanwhile,Kazakhstan’sinsistenceonWesternstandardsofprojectsupervisionpresentedanewchallengetoChineseenterprises.Afterashortperiodofadaptation,however,theChinesesideincorporatedthesestandardsintotheirworkandmanagedtoachieve“EuropeanStandardsatChinesespeed.”
Thecompletedprojectwillspuroneconomicdevelopmentandbringbenefitstolocalpeople.Mr.Kesimovisasurveyorfromasmalltownnearby,andmanyofhisfellow-townsmenarealsoemployedonthesite.“Ihavebeenworkinghereformorethanayearandamsatisfiedwithboththesalaryandtheconditions,”hesaid.“Afterfinishingworkeachday,IoftenspendtimewithmyChinesecoworkersandtrytolearnsomeChinese.”
Kesimovisoptimisticaboutprospectsforhishometown.Uponconstruction,theplantwillprocess30milliontonsoforeeachyear,produce500,000tonsofcopperconcentrate,andcreate2,000operationaljobs.Mostimportantly,theprojectwillcreateanewcityofindustryandtechnology,bringingfreshopportunitiestolocalpeopleandnearbyareas.
CompletionoftheprojectisalsoofgreatsignificancetoChina.Accordingtothemine’sprojectdepartmentmanagerChenZhenghai,China’sannualcopperconsumptionissixmilliontons,accountingforonethirdoftheworld’saggregatedemand.InadditiontoimportinglargequantitiesofcopperconcentratefromLatinAmerica,Chineseenterprisesannuallyimporttwomilliontonsofresidualwastefromwhichtheyextractcopper,whichcausessevereenvironmentalpollution.
“TheAktogaycoppermineisonlyafewhundredkilometersfromtheChineseborder,soitoffersincomparableadvantagesforobtainingqualitycopperatlowcostandconvenienttransportation.ItwillprovideChina’scopperindustrywithasourceofcleanimports.ThecoppermineisthereforeaprimeexampleofmutuallybeneficialcooperationbetweenChinaandKazakhstan,”Chensaid.
UpgradeandUpdatethroughChina’sEquipmentandTechnology
ThepetrochemicalworksinPavlodar,atraditionalindustrialcityinnorthernKazakhstan,ranksamongthecountry’stopthree.Itiscurrent-lyundergoingmodernizationtoimprovethequalityofitsoilproductsandatthesametimeprotecttheenvironment.China’sequipmentandtechnologyisbeingwidelyappliedthroughoutthisrefurbishment.
AninnovativecomponentoftheprojectisaChinese-made650-toncrawlercranewitha92-meterlongmechanicalarmusedforvulcanizingtheworks’equipment.Enterprisesonbothsidessignedageneralengineeringcontract,worthUS$170million,inJuly2016.Theworkwillbefinishedbytheendof2017.
AccordingtoZhangJianbin,generalmanageroftheproject,morethan95percentoftheproject’s250piecesofequipmentweremadeinChina,andmostofthetechnologicalprocesseswerealsoformulatedthere.“Thesefacilitiesfeaturematuretechnology,simpleoperation,andalowfailurerate.Thequalityandefficiencyofthegranulatormeetsadvancedworldstandards,”Zhangsaid.
AccordingtodeputyprojectmanagerZhangChengwu,thevulcanizationplantcomprisesfourpartswhichexpelwastewaterandgasexhaustduringthepetroleumrefiningprocess.Thisensuresthattheemissionindexmeetsthestandardsrequiredindevelopedcountries.Inadditiontoprotectingtheenvironment,thefacilityalsoisolatesnoxiousgasessuchashydrogensulfideandsulfurdioxideandtransformsthemintosulphur,theannual60,000tonoutputofwhichwillcreateextraeconomicbenefits.
Theprojecthasreceivedhighpraisefromlocalbusinesses.“This,ourthirdcooperativeprojectwithChineseenterprises,isgoingsmoothlyasregardsqualityandspeed,andtheirfacilitieshavepassedtheacidtest.Thankstotheirefforts,ourenvironmentwillbecomemuchcleaner,”saidMr.Nidashkovski,chiefengineerofthepetrochemicalworks.
ThefutureispromisingforChineseenterprisesthatincorporatequalityandefficiencyintotheprocessofgoingglobal.WhenthethenPrimeMinisterKarimMassimovvisitedtheprojectinAugust2016,hespokehighlyoftheroleplayedbyChineseenterprises.“WeaimtogiveprioritytoChineseenterpriseswhenchoosingpartnersforupcomingrefurbishments,”Nidashkovskisaid.
ThereareanumberofothersimilarcooperativeconstructionprojectsinKazakhstan.TheChineseAmbassadortoKazakhstanZhangHanhuisaidthatthetwocountrieshavecomprehensivelydeepenedtheircooperation.Therearenow51capacityandinvestmentcooperationprojects,withagrossinvestmentofUS$26.8billion.Promotedbytheleadersofbothcountries,theBeltandRoadInitiativeandcapacitycooperationwillcreatenewopportunitiesforbilateralrelations.ChinarelishesthechancetoworkwithKazakhstantowardsabrightfutureoffriendlyrelationsandcooperation.
XIEYAHONGisareporterwithPeople’sDaily.