Live Up to Expectations and Push the 10th of Ramadan City Railway Project with High Quality
On the afternoon of December 8th, local time, the Chinese President Xi Jinping met with the Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi in Riyadh.
During the talks, President Xi emphasized that the Chinese government firmly supports Egypt's development path in line with its own national conditions; firmly supports Egypt in safeguarding national sovereignty, security and development interests, and is willing to deepen cooperation with Egypt in development of the “One Belt One Road" (OBOR) Initiative; push the high-quality construction of the suburban railway of the 10th of Ramadan City and the new capital CBD; and implement major cooperation projects such as the "China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone".
The suburban 10th of Ramadan Railway Project mentioned by President Xi is a key project in the field of bilateral cooperation between the Chinese and Egyptian governments in implementing the OBOR Initiative. In 2016, during President Xi's state visit to Egypt, AVIC INTL-CREC Consortium and the Egyptian National Authority for Tunnels signed the EPC Contract for 10th of Ramadan Railway Project in Egypt.
A Project Beneficial to 5 Million People
The Egypt's 10th of Ramadan suburban railway is about 70 kilometers long, with 12 stations along the way. The starting station is located at Adly Mansour transportation hub, connecting with Cairo Metro Line 3 and Cairo-Suez Railway Station, passing through Abour, Future, Shorouk, Badr and other satellite cities along the way, and finally arriving at Arts and Culture station in the new administrative capital. The traffic opening and operation of this project will provide efficient and convenient commuter transportation services for 5 million residents traveling between the old city and the new administrative capital of Cairo. The AVIC INTL and CREC Consortium is responsible for the construction.
Not Only Construction of a Railway
According to the requirements of "Integration of Construction and Operation" of this project, the Consortium is not only responsible for the EPC turnkey job of the whole project, but also provides 2-year operation supervision support and 12-year maintenance service for this project.
In order to ensure the smooth and long-term operation of the project after its opening, AVIC INTL has also cooperated with domestic railway vocational education colleges to train future operation and maintenance professionals for Egypt. After completing their two-year studies in China, 56 international students in the first and second phases will carry out the internship training on the project and become the backbone of railway operation and maintenance in Egypt. Follow-up training arrangements are still continuing, which has become a sustainable talent training mechanism for China-Egypt cooperation.
Mission Completion in 24 Months as Required under the Epidemic
The 24-month tight construction period of the project was also the two years when the epidemic became the most serious. The Consortium, together with all participating units, worked hard hand in hand to overcome difficulties, moved forward bravely, and conquered all kinds of unimaginable hardship with focus on epidemic prevention and construction at the same time.
The main responsible personnel of the Consortium took the lead in commanding and guiding the project promotion on the spot. The main responsible persons of the project department fought on the spot for a long time, and some people did not return home for more than two years without complaining. At the most critical moment of the project, in order to solve the most difficult node, the Party branch of the project department took the "Luo Yang Youth Commando" as an example, set up a special tackling team, and concentrated superior forces to finish the final and critical work, which reflected the spirit that the aviation industry was especially capable of fighting, and ensured that every link was advanced on schedule and the project was successfully completed.
A Promising Future
In view of the good cooperation between China and Egypt in the first and second phases of Egypt's light rail project, the Egyptian Ministry of Transport and the National Authority for Tunnels have planned to entrust AVIC INTL o continue implementing the north-south extension line of Egypt's 10th of Ramadan Railway Project, namely the third and fourth phases of said project. With the tremendous efforts of AVIC INTL, the OBOR Initiative project will take root in Egypt and bear fruitful results.
In recent years, the aviation industry has actively responded to the OBOR Initiative, given full play to the advantages of the chain leaders of the head enterprises, and put forward the "Air Silk Road" plan, initially forming an overseas industrial layout driving infrastructure construction and promoting capacity cooperation and development under leadership of aviation product trade. In the future, the aviation industry will fully grasp the world development trend and the mainstream of the times, unswervingly follow the road of globalization, continue to adhere to the open strategy of mutual benefit and win-win, and contribute aeronautical power to building a community with a shared future for mankind.