The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a global infrastructure development strategy proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping. The past decade has seen the initiative evolve from a vision to reality, from a general framework to concrete projects, with over 150 countries and 30 international organizations signing BRI cooperation agreements.

A view of the Fifadji Bridge, built by the China Railway 14th Bureau Group (CRCC14), in Cotonou, Benin.

The China Railway 14th Bureau Group (CRCC14), as a centrally administered state-owned construction enterprise implementing China's "going global" strategy, has seized the historic opportunity of the BRI and created a slew of transportation infrastructure projects in Nigeria, Togo, Ecuador, Niger and other countries, paving the way for livelihood, development and prosperity while fulfilling its corporate social responsibility.

Rebuilding hope at Himalayan foothills in Nepal

In 1961, China assisted Nepal in the construction of the Araniko Highway, a 114-kilometer roadway connecting Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal, to Zham Town in Tibet Autonomous Region on the China-Nepal border. This highway is the only access to the outside world for communities along the route, serving as their path to progress and happiness.

However, the road was severely damaged and shut down by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck Nepal in April 2015. At the request of the Nepalese government, China swiftly dispatched a team with the CRCC14 to the quake-stricken area to repair the highway. "The biggest challenge is not emergency repair, but secondary disasters. There were over 10 aftershocks in just half a year," stated project manager Yao Zhonghua.