China Kingho; beyond an average perception
China’s continued economic growth in terms of world economy is something that rising nations should properly make use of. This is more especially given China’s development cooperation models with national in the developing continent, one of win-win; shared-growth and with less emphasis to attaching strings to whatever support is given. Factually, China has been a primary contributor to Africa’s development path. During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Africa, following his election as President of China, he promised a $20 billion credit to Africa in the coming two years. (Photo: John Pa Baimba Sesay, IA, China)
But this has been the case since the formation of FOCAC. Established in 2000,FOCAC is a multilateral platform for exchange and cooperation between China and African countries that have formal diplomatic relationships with China, and covers various aspects of politics, trade, economy, society and culture (Read work done by LI ANSHAN, et el on FOCAC Twelve Years Later Achievements, Challenges and the Way Forward ). In the views of the scholars referred to above, FOCAC represents a new cooperation model between China, the world’s largest developing country, and Africa, the continent with the highest number of developing countries. Thus, this cooperation model could provide a new basis for solving global poverty. Mutually, it is a beneficial cooperation model that puts emphasis on mutual respect among equals, “and is directly related to the legitimacy of the world’s current political-economic system.”
As China positively keep stretching its tentacles across Africa in the areas of infrastructure as in other areas, Sierra Leone has been no exception to this. Sierra Leone is today cooperating with China in areas like; trade relations and economic and technical cooperation and exchanges and cooperation in the fields of culture, education and health. Both countries often sought ways to adopt effective measures to promote further bilateral trade in encouraging cooperation between enterprises from the two countries.
In the area of development cooperation, there are several Chinese supported projects in Sierra Leone come in form of the Regent-Grafton road; the multi-million dollar new airport project on the mainland; rice and rubber project; Charlotte hydro dam project; and a $1.2 billion land investment project with China Hainan Rubber Group for the development of a 35,000 hectare rubber plantation and the cultivation of rice on a 100,000 hectares farm.
Pushing further, China’s go global policy is also reflective in the number of trustworthy Chinese companies going to invest in Africa. In Sierra Leone, the latest of such trustworthy Chinese companies to arrive is China Kingho Energy Group, “an international modern resources, energy and chemical company integrating metal ores mining and dressing, metallurgical chemical, refined coal chemical…” By May 2013, the Group signed a Memorandum Of Understanding with the Government of Sierra Leone for billions of dollars worth investment.
Though it shall be investing in the mining and industrial of our country’s economy, it also will largely help to maintain, develop and enhance the mutual cooperation that has been existing between Sierra Leone and the People’s Republic of China.
Plans by the company in terms of further investment in Sierra Leone include the construction of supporting power facilities so as to maintain long term sustainable growth by securing a stable power supply for industrial use. There also are plans for the construction of a transport and logistics facilities, a 250 km railway construction starting from Magburaka in the north to Sulima in the south, with an estimated US $1.74 billion. When fully in operations, this will help the country’s economic growth desire especially so in the country’s determination to achieve components of the MDGs. Railway transport definitely plays an important role in facilitating trade, ensuring growth in the tourism sector as well as promoting agriculture and industries across the country. Again, given the importance of a proper road network in a nation’s development, there are also components in the signed MOU for the construction of a 200km roads at an estimated US 500 million, coupled with the construction of industrial parks, to be provided with more than 20 supporting branches with an investment of about a billion dollars.
The fact remains, given Sierra Leone’s drive to prosperity and with President Koroma’s determination to leave a Sierra Leone well placed in terms of development, this latest investment surely will compliment the drive to national economic growth and infrastructural development. This could be viewed from the drive of job creation, helping build our infrastructure and in connecting town, villages and cities from the framework of them investing in the areas of road and railway construction. Sierra Leone’s drives to prosperity in the coming decades entails constant search for partners wanting to not only invest in the country, but who genuinely want to see the economic growth of the country by contributing in areas of job creation and bring in more opportunities. This is where China Kingho stands at the moment and there are reasons for such an investment to be supported.
And with Ambassador Foh’s arrival in China in few hours and given his zest to work in line with the President’s dream for a better Sierra Leone, it becomes apparent, that much will be gained from not just China Kingho, but that when it comes to wooing in more investment opportunity for our country, that is also where he will as an Ambassador use his expertise to see how much could be achieved.
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