Hangzhou Bay Bridge, the world’s third-longest sea span, was built by China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

Angola’s 27-year civil war has been over for more than a decade and its government is devoting itself to reconstruction, especially housing, with the help of Chinese large companies.

In 2007, a housing construction contract worth more than $700 million, was signed between China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group Co Ltd, CTCE for short, and the Angola post-war reconstruction committee in Luanda, the country’s capital.

According to the contract, CTCE would help the country build infrastructure and nearly 10,000 housing units covering a combined 1.41 million square meters. The contractor is also responsible for designs and material procurement.

“The project marked the full trust and confidence from Angola’s authorities and the people because it is significant in advancing the country’s economic development and improving local people’s livelihoods,” said CTCE General Manager Xu Baocheng at the signing ceremony.

Xu noted CTCE is a large State-controlled construction enterprise with a history of over 60 years and an annual turnover of more than $10 billion. It is also a “model subsidiary” and pilot company owned by China Railway Engineering Corp, a Fortune Global 500 company.

The company has been awarded a number of first-class qualification certificates in businesses ranging from railway and highway engineering to municipal construction, airports, housing, mechanical installation, environmental protection projects and water conservancy.

It is also engaged in producing new construction materials, operation of railway services, rental of large construction machinery, exports, real estate development and national infrastructure investment.

The company has made huge contributions to the country’s infrastructure — particularly in railway construction — by contracting many projects that have attracted worldwide attention. They include the Qinghai-Tibet Railway — the world’s highest — the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed Railway and Hangzhou Bay Bridge, the world’s third longest trans-oceanic span. It has now built more than 10,000 kilometers of rail lines and associated infrastructure.

A high-tech company recognized by the central government, CTCE has a State-level enterprise technology center and a postdoctoral workstation.

The company has also assembled a team of talented people. Among its 21,000 employees, more than 12,000 have distinguished master-level expertise, while 55 have been awarded special government allowances and 40 are professor-level engineers.

Since its establishment, the company has received over 80 awards for outstanding engineering, 30 of them the highest national prizes in their fields. The company has also had an A-class credit rating in railway construction for 13 consecutive years, the longest among its 80 peers in China.

The company treated Angola’s housing project as a priority so it met high expectations, said Xu, the general manager.

The designs were crucial, he noted.

Zhang Hechuan (center), board chairman and Party secretary of CTCE, examines the housing design for Angola. PHOTO PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY