Editor's Note: Keywords to Understand China: the Belt and Road Initiative is a selection of "China Keywords" entries included in an eponymous multilingual platform to help readers better understand China's B&R Initiative. It is one of the major projects implemented by the China International Publishing Group and the China Academy of Translation.
Mombasa-Nairobi railway
The 471-kilometer-long Mombasa-Nairobi stretch is the first section of a planned East Africa railway network. Passenger trains will travel at 120 km/hour, while freight trains will run at 80 km/hour and be able to carry 25 million tons per year.
Connecting Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, with Mombasa, the largest port in East Africa, this will be the first rail link conforming to Chinese standards ever built outside of China. It will also be the first new rail line in Kenya in a century.
The project started in October 2014, and the railway is scheduled to open to traffic on June 1, 2017. Once in service, it will cut the travel time from Mombasa to Nairobi from over ten hours to a little more than four hours.
A long-term masterplan envisions a rail system serving six East African countries, namely – Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. This modern network will help promote economic development in East Africa and beyond.
Statistics indicate that construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi section has created nearly 30,000 jobs in Kenya and boosted annual GDP growth by 1.5 percent. The cost of movement of goods is expected to be reduced by 40 percent after the completion of this initial project.
Addis Ababa-Adama expressway
The Addis Ababa-Adama expressway is the first expressway in Ethiopia and East Africa. The road was built with financing support from the Chinese government and using Chinese technology and standards.
Connecting Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa to its second largest city Adama, the expressway facilitates the movement of people, improves transportation efficiency, and enhances Ethiopia's ability to attract foreign investment. The two phases of the construction of the 100-kilometer-long road were completed in May 2014 and August 2016.
In addition to extensive use of local labor, the project's Chinese contractor brought technical and managerial expertise to Ethiopia, contributing to its capability in infrastructure development.
Karot hydropower project
The Karot hydropower project is located on the Jhelum River, one of the rivers of the Indus River System in Northern Pakistan, about 55 kilometers east of Islamabad.
It is the first hydropower project implemented under the Belt and Road Initiative, and the first project financed by the Silk Road Fund since its inception in 2014. It is also one of the priority projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the largest green field investment project ever undertaken overseas by a Chinese company.
The project is being developed on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) basis. Started at the end of 2015, it is scheduled to be operational by 2020. After completion, it will be operated by the construction contractor for 30 years, after which the ownership will be transferred to the Pakistani government at no cost.
With an investment of US$1.65 billion, the power station will have an installed capacity of 720MW and an average annual output of 3.2GWh. In addition to power generation, it will help flood prevention and sediment control, and improve downstream and reservoir area transport services.
The project is expected to create more than 2,000 new jobs, and will spur coordinated and upgraded development in related sectors.
(The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Panview or CCTV.com)
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