The construction site of the public sector housing project in Libya undertaken by Zhongtai Construction Group. [Provided to China Daily]

Ye Mao has a wonderfully honest expression for his company's rapidly expanding international ambitions.

The director of international business at Zhong Taiheng Investment Holdings Group admits that the company, a late comer to project contracting in Africa, is still very much "borrowing the boat to go out to sea". But after a difficult start to its business in Africa, that approach appears to be paying off.

In 2009, one of the subsidiaries of Zhong Taiheng, Zhongtai Construction Group, won a contract to build 1,500 houses in Libya in partnership with China Gezhouba Group Corp.

The project, covering 300,000 square meters of floor space, was considered a key Libyan public sector housing scheme, and was set to provide free homes for many thousands of Libyans.

However, before the project could be completed, the country fell into civil war.

With the safety of its 1,260 administrative and construction workers its priority, Zhongtai was forced to abandon the asset, and get its people home to safety.

That troubled construction project was Zhongtai's baptism by fire in Africa, but far from cooling its ambitions in the continent, it has only fueled a stronger desire to succeed there, Ye says.

"That unexpected setback caused by the political crisis has certainly not prevented us from moving forward into a continent that we realize has so many opportunities," he says.

Zhongtai has now created a dedicated international division, aimed at expanding its overseas investments and bringing its latest innovations to market.

The company has signed numerous strategic cooperation agreements with various large-scale, State-owned enterprises, such as the international division of China Gezhouba Group and Changjiang Geotechnical Engineering Corp, companies that already have a lot of experience in overseas construction.

That strategy is aimed at spreading risk in future overseas construction projects, but also at accumulating international engineering experience for its own staff and management.