Dr. Baisen He

CGGC has been involved in several large infrastructure projects in Kuwait, such as the South Saad Al-Abdullah City and Al-Mutla Residential City. How do you see CGGC‘s role evolving in Kuwait‘s future infrastructure development?

The current role of CGGC in Kuwait is of a reliable construction contractor that has delivered four projects with a total value of KD353 million and is currently working on Kuwait’s largest infrastructure project ever in South Saad Al-Abdullah New City.

When talking about the future, CGGC has participated in the construction of Xiong’an New Area in China and has accumulated a lot of experience in the field of smart city, sponge city, multipurpose utility tunnel, prefabricated housing, and new construction materials.

We are ready to give full play of our advantage to cooperate with the related Kuwaiti authorities to provide integrated solutions for urban development. We hope CGGC can be more than a contractor and apply all its capabilities in the infrastructure development to build a Kuwait of the future.

What strategic opportunities do you see in Kuwait for CGGC beyond residential infrastructure, particularly in sectors like renewable energy, water management, or transportation?

CGGC’s business scope includes twelve sectors, with the energy sector being the primary one.

During His Highness the Amir of Kuwait, Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al Sabah‘s visit to China last September, the governments of both countries signed Five-years plan for Bilateral Cooperation and a series of MOUs related to renewable energy, port, housing, environmental protection, etc.

We believe the cooperation between the two countries will enter a new era under the guidance of both leaders. And CGGC, as one of the Chinese state-owned enterprises that has the most comprehensive business in Kuwait, will positively participate in projects relating to renewable energy, water supply and sewage treatment, roads and railways, and new city development.

In addition, CGGC is willing to play a more important role in Kuwait Vision 2035 based on green concepts, innovation, and digital intelligence and integration, among others.

Could you describe your experience working with Kuwaiti firms and government bodies? What has been your biggest challenge and your greatest success in navigating these relationships?

I would like to talk about the cooperation between PAHW and us.

CGGC was awarded the Al-Mutla Project in 2017, which was the first project we signed with PAHW. At the beginning, the two sides did not know each other very well, so some works were carried out slowly.

For example, we planned to use blasting for excavation because the earth in the Mutla area is very hard. But it took us a long time to communicate that with the client and to convince and have them approve our proposal.

However, the trust between the two parties deepened rapidly with the performance of the project, and finally the client allowed us to improve the quantity of blasting work to 60 ton per day, which was six times that of any other company’s.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, CGGC overcame many difficulties and invested a lot of resources to ensure the project was completed on schedule. 

The outstanding performance has earned us the recognition and trust of the client, so when we won the South Saad Al-Abdullah project, the client showed us their great support. Communication and trust were the biggest challenge for us, but they soon became a valuable achievement.

Looking forward, what are CGGC’s key priorities for growth in the Middle East region, and where does Kuwait fit into that vision?

China has been committed to developing relations with Arab countries in recent years, especially with the Gulf countries.

CGGC, as a core member of Energy China, which is top 2 Chinese SOE in power industry, No.10 of ENR global contractors, No.2 of ENR global design institute, will focus on renewable energy and new infrastructure, expanding its operation in the Middle East region.

Kuwait is our core market. We set up a local company through KDIPA in 2020, purchased a lot of equipment, built a localized management team, and are positively following all kinds of potential opportunities here. 

The transformation and reform of future Kuwait is the best chance for our sustainable development in this country with unlimited potential. And we are committed to driving and radiating business development in the entire Middle East region through high value operation in Kuwait.