2018年CRI China-contracted housing project benefits the Maldivians

 

Home construction projects contracted by Chinese companies are now said to be improving local people's livelihood¹ in the Maldives, where people have been facing serious housing shortages.

Maldivian film director Ahmed Sajid is filming a documentary about the Belt and Road Initiative in his home country.

He says many of the locals are pleased with the residential² construction projects being contracted to Chinese firms.

"During the filming of the documentary, we interviewed a lot of locals as well. We found out a lot about what they feel from their hearts, they really appreciate what has already been done by the Chinese government, what the Chinese government is doing, and how they are enriching lives in Maldives through housing projects," says Sajid.

The housing project being mentioned is said to be the biggest public housing project in the Maldives' history.

Construction work is now underway on 7000 affordable³ houses in Hulhumale Island, with the total construction area covering 451,900 square meters.

State-owned China State Construction Engineering has secured the bid for 434 million U.S. dollars, and will serve as an engineering, procurement⁴ and construction contractor⁵.

"The government-subsidized housing project is significant in terms of addressing the young people's housing needs. The Maldivian people have been longing⁶ for access to a place they can call home," says Chinese ambassador to the Maldives Zhang Lizhong.

Wang Zhouya, general manager of China State Construction Engineering's branch in the Maldives, says a series of challenges have to be overcome.

"All construction materials, as well as equipment and staff members, are transported from either China or a third country. This has made the organization work of the project much tougher. Besides, all the apartment buildings are 25-story ones, the highest in the Maldives. To achieve this, cement fly-ash gravel⁷ pile composite foundation is applied," says Wang.

The apartments will be built using Chinese standards, but designed with local requirements in mind.

Environmental protection is also highlighted in the housing designs to protect the local geological conditions.

Ahmed Nasif, general manager from a housing development firm based in the Maldivies, says the quality of the houses is being closely monitored.

"In terms of monitoring, of course, we do have a project monitoring unit to ensure that these production standards are maintained, and definitely, I think it is very, very important that we are able to compliment the Chinese contractors," says Nasif.

Ali Shameem, President of Maldives Civil Service Commission, says the project shows how the Belt and Road Initiative benefits the Maldivian people.

"This (the Belt and Road Initiative) is for the world benefit, so I think, in recent time, it's (China) going to be a very great leader who brings positive change to the world, especially giving help for developing countries," says Shameem.

The Maldives has an increasing population, but little housing development.

To remedy this, the Chinese government signed a deal with the Maldivian government in 2008 to build 4000 houses in the Maldives.

1000 of those units were completed in 2013, while construction of another 1500 began in 2014.

1 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

2 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

3 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

4 procurement   

n.采购；获得

参考例句：

• He is in charge of the procurement of materials.他负责物资的采购。
• More and more,human food procurement came to have a dominant effect on their evolution.人类获取食物愈来愈显著地影响到人类的进化。

5 contractor   

n.订约人，承包人，收缩肌

参考例句：

• The Tokyo contractor was asked to kick $ 6000 back as commission.那个东京的承包商被要求退还6000美元作为佣金。
• The style of house the contractor builds depends partly on the lay of the land.承包商所建房屋的式样，有几分要看地势而定。

6 longing   

n.（for）渴望

参考例句：

• Hearing the tune again sent waves of longing through her.再次听到那首曲子使她胸中充满了渴望。
• His heart burned with longing for revenge.他心中燃烧着急欲复仇的怒火。

7 gravel   

n.砂跞；砂砾层；结石

参考例句：

• We bought six bags of gravel for the garden path.我们购买了六袋碎石用来铺花园的小路。
• More gravel is needed to fill the hollow in the drive.需要更多的砾石来填平车道上的坑洼。