China‘s northeastern industrial city of Anshan is hosting a group of 60 Nigerian electricians. They are receiving comprehensive knowledge of power transmission and transformer manufacturing from local Chinese company Huaye, learning theories in the morning, and practicing skills in the afternoon. It’s all part of a major electrical project with Nigeria that aims to advance its access to stable electricity.
Salihu Muhammed Zaki, team leader of the Nigerian technicians, said his country has generators but is poor in transmission and distribution capability. “We are optimistic that by the time we get back to Nigeria, we’ll replicate what we have seen here and learnt here,”said Zaki.
It’s not the first time that the African country has sought a breakthrough in this area. Nigerian experts said they used to buy and install foreign equipment, until they realized the need to make and maintain their own. That has also brought new opportunities for Liaoning Huaye Group which has done a lot of business with Africa in electrical engineering over the past decade, especially with the Belt And Road Initiative.
“But we felt that we were giving a man a fish and only feeding him only for a day,” said Ma Liming, Chairman of Huaye. “So we undertook the project of Electrify Africa proposed by Nigeria, in terms of training, building factories, and long-term maintenance,” Ma added.
What the company offers during the training is not just a comfortable environment that makes its Nigerian friends feel at home, but also a professional team, an open mind and a detailed schedule that allows the Nigerian engineers to efficiently get what they need. In the most recent test, nearly all the trainees got good marks. They told CGTN that they will be expected to guide more experts to further electrify their country back in Nigeria so they have to work hard.
Such a positive outcome is mutual — Chinese engineers at Huaye now understand more about the specific needs of the African market. This will help them create better energy systems, such as those that can withstand variations in special weather conditions.
