On Sept. 10, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) held a ceremony for the release of its Sri Lanka sustainability report “Witness Happiness” via virtual conference between Beijing and Colombo. This was the third country report published overseas by CSCEC, and its first sustainable development report for Sri Lanka.

The report consists of four parts: common prosperity, safety and environmental protection, happiness and growth, and harmonious and win-win cooperation. The report provides details on CSCEC’s valuable experience in undertaking social responsibilities in Sri Lanka, improving people’s lives, promoting local economic and social development, and strengthening China-Sri Lanka friendship and people-to-people bonds.

CSCEC’s work in Sri Lanka can be traced back to the construction of the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH), which was completed in 1973. CSCEC had projects in various fields, including highways, water conservancy, tunnels, apartments, hotels, and shopping malls. Through them, the company established great cooperative relationships with local enterprises to jointly promote the development of construction, building materials, transportation, and other related sectors in Sri Lanka.

Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH)

Common prosperity

In the Extension of Southern Expressway Project in Sri Lanka, CSCEC introduced modern expressway construction concepts such as energy saving, emission reduction, and intelligent transportation into the construction process, and completed the project with high quality by employing fine materials, advanced machinery, and strong management.

The Extension of Southern Expressway Project in Sri Lanka

After the road rehabilitation project in the northern provinces of Sri Lanka is completed by CSCEC, the local road facilities will be greatly enhanced, which will facilitate the commute of people in the surrounding areas and stimulate the development of regional tourism. Connected with the transportation artery of northern and southern Sri Lanka, the project will further promote economic development in the northern provinces.

Harmonious and win-win cooperation

In May 2017, Sri Lanka was hit by heavy rainfalls. CSCEC immediately set up a flood fighting team and organized its employees to help villagers near its projects with flood fighting, self-rescue, and safe evacuation, as well as repairing the main roads blocked by mudslides to minimize the impact of the rainstorm on villagers.

CSCEC developed a series of China-Sri Lanka sustainable welfare programs, such as constructing nursing homes together with the local government, donating to schools and hospitals, and organizing charity and free clinic activities. After  COVID-19 outbreak, CSCEC joined hands with the local people to overcome difficulties and fight against the pandemic, donating infrared thermometers, disposable face masks, and other medical supplies.

In 2017, CSCEC set up the Volunteers Service Team of “Ceylon Dream Makers” in Sri Lanka. The volunteer team has organized more than 30 public welfare activities, raising over 1 million rupees for local residents and donating 2 million rupees worth of materials. It has benefited more than 5,000 people in the areas of CSCEC projects including the elderly, teachers and students, employees in economically difficult situations, people affected by disasters, and disabled people.

Happiness and growth

CSCEC actively recruits employees from Sri Lanka and attaches great importance to staff training and management. Through improving their professional skills and carrying out communication activities, CSCEC tries to promote self-improvement and common growth of its workforce.

CSCEC formulated a targeted staff training system and curriculum, and jointly complied the trilingual “Engineering Terminology Handbook” in Chinese, Sinhala, and English in collaboration with the China-Sri Lanka Vocational Training Center, in order to improve professional skills among local employees. Thanks to various training programs, an increasing number of local staff have improved their skills, gained management experience, and grown into high-quality talents for the construction of their hometowns and the development of their country.

Safety and environmental protection

In the Extension of Southern Expressway Project in Sri Lanka, CSCEC built a safety and vocational skills training demonstration base, and regularly assigned engineers to solve problems during construction for local workers. Bilingual training materials in English and Sinhala were developed to improve the safety awareness and operational skills of employees. The Sri Lanka Southern Expressway Extension Project and the AVIC Mixed Development Project (Astoria) won the International Safety Awards 2019 from the British Safety Council.

CSCEC pays close attention to environmental protection in the process of construction and does its best to minimize the ecological impact of construction on the surrounding areas. The Extension of Southern Expressway Project hired environmental protection experts who had developed and implemented solutions to environmental problems. CSCEC also hired professional organizations to collect the statistical information and keep records of the biological populations around the project. During the design and construction process, CSCEC employed energy-saving lighting, solar power, and other green construction technologies. It promoted the use of the green and low carbon highway construction technologies to avoid adverse influence on the environment and enhance the green and low carbon travel experience of highway users. Since the construction process would easily generate noise and dust pollution, the ODEL Mall & Department Store Project in Colombo checked the noise level regularly and adopted the wall-mounted spraying system and the mist cannon dust suppression system for dust control, protecting the clean water and clear sky in Sri Lanka.

Looking back, CSCEC has continued the friendship between China and Sri Lanka, undertook its corporate social responsibilities, and promoted the development of a win-win relationship between the two countries. Looking forward, CSCEC will continue to contribute to Sri Lanka’s development and China-Sri Lanka friendship, and build a good image of Chinese enterprises overseas.