Proudly above the Blue Sky, Spreading Wings in Malabo

Proudly above the Blue Sky, Spreading Wings in Malabo-- Malabo International Airport, Equatorial Guinea

Off the west coast of Africa, there is a beautiful island called Bioko, known as the "Pearl of the Gulf of Guinea." Malabo, the capital of Equatorial Guinea, is located at the northern tip of Bioko Island. It is one of the country’s key tourist destinations, characterized by predominantly two-story buildings with a Spanish architectural style, and few modern high-rise buildings.

The international air transport industry of Equatorial Guinea has a broad prospect. However, the original Malabo airport lacks modern and stable transport capacity, making it unable to accommodate a large number of passengers and cargo. This has become a bottleneck for the country’s international transport industry development. The local government urgently needs to build a more modern and larger international airport to meet the future needs of passenger and cargo transportation.

Our company undertook this project through EPC general contracting. With the unremitting efforts of the project team and the full support of various departments at home and abroad, our company overcame numerous difficulties, accelerated progress to meet the completion date, ensured the schedule of the project, and successfully completed the project construction with high standards and strict control. The project met the owner’s requirements in terms of construction period, quality, safety and environmental protection. Today, the modern Malabo new airport stands tall on the island of Bioko, resembling an eagle spreading its wings.

During the project construction, the project team cultivated a group of technical experts familiar with construction management in Africa. Take Liu Shijun as an example: before joining the project team, he was a civil engineer and engineering economist with several years of work experience. The company focused on his training in these years, and he worked tirelessly, spending every day on the construction site, and his skin was tanned. After years of experience, he progressed from being the manager of the Commerce Department and the Civil Engineering Department to the chief engineer of the project team. A few months after the project ended, he was appointed as the head of a project in Guinea. Now, he serves as the project leader of another major project in Equatorial Guinea, leading a team of younger colleagues to continue contributing to the development of Africa.

Oversea construction, especially for large-scale infrastructure projects, inevitably requires the support of local subcontractors. Successfully identifying and collaborating closely with local subcontractors with strong professional capabilities is a true test of a multinational company's professional expertise and management abilities.

The high-voltage cabinets used in the Malabo Airport Terminal are SM6 ring network cabinets. Considering the actual situation of local high voltage management, the project team adopted a mode where the local power company handled the construction while we provided technical guidance. Under the overall management and scientific guidance of the project team, the local power company made full use of various construction resources, greatly improving the construction efficiency, and successfully completing the construction tasks. Local operators, who grew through our technical guidance and practiccal experience, significantly improved their working skills and labor efficiency, becoming experienced engineers in the local power construction field.

Azuma, a local electrical engineer, said: "I am very grateful to the Chinese enterprise for building such an advanced airport for us, and I am also very grateful to the Chinese technicians for teaching me knowledge and skills, and sharing their experience with me during the construction of the project, which has contributed to my progress. After the Malabo Airport Project, I am confident that I can complete tasks I previously thought unimaginable and I will contribute more to my country in the future."

After completion, Malabo International Airport will be able to handle 1 million passengers per year, making it the most important airport in Equatorial Guinea. The new terminal of Malabo Airport is one of the most fully functional and modern terminals in Central Africa, greatly improving the convenience and comfort of local residents. During the operation of the new airport, it can provide tens of thousands of jobs, and will play an immeasurable role in promoting the development of local tourism, catering, service and other industries.

The government and local people also spoke highly of the Malabo Airport Project, and the President of Equatorial Guinea and heads of government departments visited the project site many times. This terminal, which embodies the wisdom and hard work of the airport builders, is one of the most important landmark buildings in Malabo, providing a platform for Equatorial Guinea to realize its dreams.

President Obiang cuts the ribbon to inaugurate the new terminal

Qi Mei, then Chinese Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea, also spoke highly of the project, saying that it is an important project for Equatorial Guinea to promote economic diversification and enhance regional and sub-regional connectivity and has positive significance for improving the well-being of the Equatorial Guinean people. China is willing to continue supporting Equatorial Guinea in accelerating the process of national modernization and economic diversification under the framework of the Global Development Initiative and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, enabling Chinese enterprises in leveraging their strengths to contribute to Equatorial Guinea's national development.

Ambassador Qi Mei (Center) inspects Malabo International Airport Project 

Building an airport is like erecting a monument. WIETC aims to integrate China's airport construction experience with diverse global cultures and will actively explore the global airport construction market to promote the development of civil aviation infrastructure in countries along the "Belt and Road" and in Africa, providing valuable experience for the sustainable development of infrastructure in Africa and creating greater economic benefits for the local communities.