Stick to the Post in a Foreign Country — — Visit to the Construction Site of Sinoma Construction in South Africa

"Our production line has doubled the production capacity of the enterprise and met the demand of the cement market in South Africa." During the Spring Festival, Huang Datong, assistant general manager of South Africa Branch of China Material Construction Co., Ltd., pointed to the 120-meter-high cement plant tower and told reporters. In May

2015, Sinoma Construction Co., Ltd. signed a contract with PPC Cement Plant in South Africa to undertake the clinker production line construction project of Line 9 and the upgrading and transformation of the kiln tail electric dust collection workshop of Line 8, with a total contract value of more than 100 million US dollars.

In this cement plant about 300 kilometers from Johannesburg, nearly 60 Chinese technicians stick to their posts during the Spring Festival, preparing for performance testing and providing technical training for local employees. Huang Datong,

35, came here in 2015 to witness and participate in the whole process of transformation and upgrading of the production line of PPC Cement Plant in South Africa.

Huang Datong said that the old production lines of the cement plant are out of operation, and only Line 8 and the newly built Line 9 are currently in production. Line 9 is a complete new dry rotary kiln production line, which was successfully ignited on March 31, 2018, and the first batch of clinker was successfully produced in April of the same year, with a daily production capacity of 3000 tons; the upgrading and transformation of Line 8 has been basically completed.

It is understood that after the commissioning of Line 9, the output has reached the standard and the quality is excellent. It has also performed well in improving operational efficiency, energy saving and emission reduction, and controlling output costs. It has become an important cement clinker production point in Southern Africa, and the customer base of PPC Cement Plant is also growing.

Huang Datong said that he has worked in Sinoma Construction for 15 years, during which he has participated in overseas projects, worked in Hungary, the Bulgaria, Saudi Arabia and other countries, and this year is his fourth the Spring Festival in South Africa.

"Our construction units only look at the construction period, not the holidays," Huang Datong said.

The cement plant is located in a remote area, nearly 30 kilometers away from the nearest town. Chinese technicians work and rest on the project site, and seldom have the opportunity to go to Johannesburg to experience urban life.

"This year we have nearly 60 people here for the Spring Festival, and during the Spring Festival in 2018, the project was busy, and more than 250 Chinese technicians stayed here," said Zhu Donghai, marketing minister of Sinoma Construction South Africa Branch. We have arranged a lot of recreational activities this year.

"the Spring Festival is the warmest symbol in every Chinese heart. After a busy year, I hope to have a good New Year's Eve dinner with my family, but I have to stick to my post because of the need of my work.". Not only me, but many of us have not returned to China for the Spring Festival for several years in a row. Huang Datong said.

The project will be basically completed this year, and some of the staff of the project team will continue to stay there to expand their business in Southern Africa. "I hope I can return home next year to spend the Spring Festival with my family," Huang said.