Sinohydro dam lifts Tunisia's morale

TUNIS - Wearing red-and-white safety helmets, around 20 Chinese and Tunisian mechanics were binding reinforcement bars on the floor at a dam project which is under construction.

"I have worked in this dam construction for one year," said the 24-year-old Wael Torkhani, a local resident. "I not only learned skills from my Chinese colleagues, but also earned enough money to support my family."

Passing through the mountains in El Kef province in northwestern Tunisia, the dam is built by Chinese power construction company Sinohydro, over the Mellegue River, which provides major water resources for over 240,000 inhabitants in the province.