China, Zimbabwe strengthen cooperation on transport infrastructure

China and Zimbabwe have signed two agreements for airport infrastructure maintenance and skills development training in the transport sector in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe.

The two agreements included the maintenance of the Victoria Falls International Airport, which was upgraded by China Jiangsu International (CJI) in 2016, and the technical cooperation between the Airports Company of Zimbabwe and CJI.

At the signing ceremony on Monday, Zimbabwean Deputy Minister of Transport and Infrastructural Development Joshua Sacco said the technical cooperation agreement will enable Zimbabwe to tap into China’s technical expertise and knowledge in the transport sector.

“So as we expand our airports in the country. It means we also have the need for skilled manpower and this comes in handy as we cooperate with the Chinese company,” he said.

He hailed CJI for its commitment to partnering with Zimbabwe to develop and modernize its transport infrastructure, noting that the support from the Chinese company will boost Zimbabwe’s industrialization efforts.

“The signing of the two agreements is a continuation of the long-standing relationship between our two nations dating back to the days of the liberation struggle and it now shows that we are moving on to a stage where we share economic development between the two countries,” Sacco said.

Ma Xin, vice governor of China’s Jiangsu Province who led a provincial delegation to Zimbabwe, said the CJI ‘s construction of landmark airport projects with high quality has exerted a positive socio-economic impact on Zimbabwe.

With Zimbabwe transitioning towards an industrialized economy, there is heavy demand for infrastructure building and construction, and engineering and construction companies from Jiangsu are more than willing to participate in Zimbabwe’s infrastructure construction development, he added.

Xinhua