BACKGROUND

In November 2007, Sinohydro won a contract from the Zambian Electricity

Supply Corporation (ZESCO) to install two more 180MW generators to the

Kariba North Bank Power station. The project has officially ended on July 31,

2014. Beside the core business of expanding the capacity of the power plant,

the Sinohydro project team helped build capacity for local communities.

How did Sinohydro help local people build capacity? • Employ and train local people

• Transfer the cutting-edge technology of hydropower

• Upgrade the facilities of the local high school

Although Sinohydro didn’t frame those efforts into capacity building programs, the benefits to local

communities are real.

EMPLOY AND TRAIN 1,882 LOCAL PEOPLE. 735 BECOME TECHNICAL WORKERS

Most local people are general workers. Those who have certificates turn out

to be not good at their claimed skills. It would be too costly to bring Chinese

workers to Zambia because their salary is higher and their working visas are

expensive. From a cost-effective perspective, the company decides to hire

local people as general workers and provide on-site training for some quick-

learners.

As some general workers gradually command the skills, they apply to transfer

their working type from general workers to skilled ones. Skilled workers get

higher payment than general workers. When the worker is leaving the

position, the company will write them a reference, testifying that the worker

Company Portfolio:

Sinohydro is a Chinese state-owned hydropower engineering and construction company. It possesses 50% global market share in water conservancy and hydropower construction field.

has done what type of job for how long on this project. Hopefully some

companies will recognize the reference and hire the labor as skilled workers.

It is not uncommon for some skilled workers to resign and pursue college

education majoring in engineering, law, etc.

INTRODUCE AUTOMATIC GENERATION CONTROL (AGC) TECHNOLOGY

The Kariba North Bank power station was completed in 1977. The equipment

and technology there is still working but outdated. To win the contract,

Sinohydro promised that they would introduce the latest technology like

Automatic Generation Control (AGC) to this power station. But the

employees from the electricity supply company and the electricity

transmission company are not familiar with AGC. According to the contract,

Sinohydro can only get paid after ZESCO employees are satisfied with the

result of the inspections. To get paid for AGC installment, Sinohydro brought

an expert on AGC technology from China to Zambia. The expert provides the

test procedures and went through the tests with the employees from both

supply and transmission companies.

During the inspection, the ZESCO employees not only learns how the

technology works in principle by simulating it on the computer but also gets

to see how the real system works by adjusting the newly-installed generators

in the central control room. At the end of the test, the Zambian employees

were able to operate the AGC system independently. They can also use the

testing documents to disseminate the knowledge to their colleagues.

RECYCLED FACILITIES TO UPGRADE LOCAL SCHOOLS As the project is about to end, Sinohydro has much second-hand stuff. If they send it out of Zambia, they had to pay customs. If they transport stuff, it is likely to broken through the long-distance back-and-forth on muddy roads. So it would be cost-effective for them to sell the selected items locally. The words spread quickly among local people. Different groups visited the camp to acquire things at low prices every day. For example, there are 4 long prefab houses as Sinohydro’s offices near the project site. The prefab house consists of at least 3 compartments with lights, boards, windows, and doors. A local school purchased one of the prefab houses and transformed it into classrooms.

POTENTIAL FOR IMPROVEMENT

Time and cost are two major concerns for Sinohydro. It would be more

attractive for Sinohydro to further get involved if the capacity building save

time and cost for the project.

• Language decides how fast people can learn the skills or the technology.

Most Chinese workers can only speak Mandarin or only dialects. Many

uneducated Zambian workers can only speak local language or simple

I am resigning because I need to go to further my studies. I am grateful for having been given an opportunity to work for this organization as I have acquired a number of skills. -REF: Notice of Resignation from a general worker, 11th June, 20

Examples of English spoken by

Sinohydro Chinese employees

“Too much Alibaba” (too many thieves)

“Me go look look” (let me go and have a check)

“No good ha!” (bad)

English. Ineffective communication significantly extends the training cycle

and inspections.

• Coordination decides how fast the technology transfer can get set up. It

might take a couple of weeks to organize a joint inspection. Sinohydro may

schedule it on Sunday but Zambians don’t work on Sunday. Some tests

require the power off a whole electricity line. It may take two more weeks for

the head-quarter in the capital city to arrange for the power-off.

• Frequent thefts tend to distance Sinohydro group from the local

community. “Local people are too poor and they want everything from us,”

quoted from a Sinohydro engineer. “It is useless to call the police. They don’t

believe you if you don’t have a Zambian witness.” The lack of fair protection

over property makes the company hesitate to interact too much with local

communities.

Contact

Tianjun Hou Yale M.S. 2015

tianjun.hou@yale.edu

The author spent 3 months

investigating China’s infrastructure

development in Zambia. This

document is developed based on

her interviews and observation at

the project site.