Chinese firms lend helping hand

Wang Feng can still feel the adrenaline rush as he recounts his involvement in keeping Kathmandu's telecommunication lines open after the massive 7.9-magnitude earthquake hit Nepal on April 25.

Wang, technology director at Chinese telecom equipment provider ZTE in Nepal, was among the first people to go to the systems control building at Ncell, one of Nepal's major local telecommunication operators, to offer help.

The quake and constant aftershocks had caused serious damage to the country's telecommunication system, knocking out nearly 50 percent of base stations in Kathmandu, the capital.

In the following three days, 65 ZTE engineers - nearly half of the company's employees in Nepal -worked at various signal stations. The company also arranged for workers to monitor the system 24 hours a day.

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that claimed thousands of lives, many Chinese companies have been quick to extend a helping hand. China is the largest foreign investor in the Himalayan nation and nearly 100 Chinese companies are registered there.

"We know how important the telecommunication system is to the country, particularly for work in rescuing people after an earthquake. Recovering the system means saving more lives," says Wang.

While the 34-year-old engineer was repairing the core network on the third floor, there was another strong aftershock. All the shelves and machines in the small operations room were shaking.

"My hands and legs were also shaking ... but I knew that I had to finish the repairs first," Wang says.

Xu Lei, CEO of ZTE Nepal, says: "We were racing against time to save lives. Even though constant aftershocks at one time affected nearly 70 percent of all base stations, the company still managed to have 75 percent of the system working in three days."

In the days that followed, Xu received an e-mail from Lars Klasson, vice-president of TeliaSonera, Ncell's mother company. "Thanks for all the efforts from your company. We appreciate all the support to Ncell and the country," Klasson wrote.

Chen Tiegang, director of the Nepal branch of Shanghai Construction Group, never thought the Chinese telecom equipment provider's plant and machinery would be used to save lives.

After the earthquake struck and wreaked damage in Kathmandu, destroying historical heritage sites and causing buildings to collapse, locals led by police came to the company's premises to ask for help.

"The residents were crying," Chen says. "They said their houses had collapsed and family members were buried beneath the rubble. A police officer said they needed our machines to save people."

As the earthquake occurred on a Saturday, many of the Chinese engineers were away for the weekend. The three engineers on site immediately joined the rescue efforts using a crane, forklift truck and excavator.

Amid the continuous aftershocks, the Chinese engineers worked until midnight that day. "Thanks to our equipment, we rescued four people from collapsed buildings," Chen says.

The earthquake left many of SCG's 81 Nepali employees homeless. Some of them lost their families, and SCG's depot became a shelter for them.

"I told them that as long as the Chinese staff members had food, no Nepali would go hungry at my base," Chen adds.

SCG also took care of 100 students from a primary school northwest of Kathmandu.

"We've been supporting the school, which has many orphans, since we started working in Nepal. After the earthquake, we lost contact because of the destruction of the telecommunication networks. We were very worried about the children during those days," he says.

When the network was repaired four days later, SCG called the school.

"They were safe but asked for food and tents," Chen says. "It is hard to get food right after a disaster. Many shops were closed. Luckily, we have a long-term food supplier in Kathmandu, and we bought up almost everything in the shop."

Within 48 hours, 300 kilograms of rice, 250 kg of flour, cooking oil and tents were delivered by the Chinese construction company to the school.

"We hope those students, who do not have parents, can still feel cared for during this natural disaster," Chen says.

SCG has been working on an assistance project to upgrade Kathmandu's ring road since 2013, costing 300 million yuan ($48 million; 42 million euros).

Chen says the earthquake did not cause much damage to the project, of which 50 percent of the basic construction has already been completed.

The Chinese team plans to spend one month repairing the damaged sections of the 10.4-kilometer road and is confident of completing it on schedule. The handover to the Nepali government is due to take place in August 2016.

zhaoyanrong@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 05/15/2015 page14)