An urban water supply plant built by China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group (CTCE) was successfully handed over to Costa Rican operators on Jan 7 as a China-aided project after more than three years of construction, helping provide sufficient and safe water to tens of thousands of residents in two cities.

As the third China-aided project in Costa Rica, it will help Canas residents to access sufficient water and allow people in Bebedero to eliminate excessive arsenic in their drinking water.

"This is of vital importance in safeguarding the health of local residents and improving their living environment, while jointly contributing to building the Belt and Road," said Gong Huadong, manager of the project from State-owned CTCE.

"The project is crucial to local development, as Canas has not started a housing project for 12 years due to lack of water. Besides, its advanced equipment and technology bring high-quality water, helping boost the local commercial and production development," said Costa Rican expert Francisco Alberto Mendoza Mata.

The project officially began construction in April 2019. Three months later, Costa Rican President Carlos Alvarado Quesada visited the construction site in July to show his appreciation.

Since July 2018, Chinese technicians began to visit the designated site for preliminary survey and construction plans before its official construction.

Gong was appointed by CTCE to serve as project manager in Costa Rica in 2019, given his sound work experiences and excellent management abilities.

Gong, 38, joined CTCE upon his graduation from university in 2008. He has participated in building six livelihood projects in Shanghai, Nanjing, Jiangsu province, Kunming, Yunnan province and Xuzhou, Jiangsu province.

To ensure the smooth progress of the project in Costa Rica, Gong led his management team to conduct detailed on-site surveys, organizing numerous expert deliberations and optimizing the construction plan.

"We must provide a high-quality project, and ensuring safety is a paramount task," Gong said, noting no safety incident occurred in the project.

As this was CTCE Municipal Engineering Co's first project in Central America, Gong and his colleagues were unfamiliar with the local political, social and natural environment. But Gong coordinated well with local operators AYA, the national water supply company, and ICE, the national electric power company, and local governments, bringing the project on the right track.

At busy times, Gong had to manage some 60 CTCE staff on the worksite. "While working overseas, we really miss our families back home," Gong said, adding some participants have not been home for several years. "We are fully aware of our responsibilities. As a leader, I have to take the lead and stick to my post."

CTCE helped its staff overcome such difficulties as language barriers, a long waiting period for building materials sent from China, and work visas for employees.

As COVID-19 hit Costa Rica in 2020, CTCE provided the best support it could. It tried every means to reserve daily necessities and anti-pandemic materials for its staff, guaranteeing orderly construction of the project.

Established in November 1950 and now with some 23,360 employees with vast domestic operations, CTCE has ventured into nearly 20 countries, including Angola, Ethiopia, Mongolia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Costa Rica, said Chen Zihua, a CTCE publicity official.

Support from the employees' families played a major part. Gong's wife, Huang Qin, 37, works at a hospital in Anhui province. Though busy with her own job and caring for two young sons, she fully supported Gong's work.

"My husband's career means moving from place to place, hard work and dedication. Working overseas, he has not been home for five consecutive years during the traditional Spring Festival," she said.

With the unremitting efforts of all participants, the project gained midterm acceptance in August 2020 and letters of commendation and thanks from Canas in 2020 and 2021. Since Aug 26, CTCE staff have begun to train AYA employees on running the plant, covering theoretical and practical training. Currently, only two local people are helping manage the plant.

"In the future, there will be some 15 local people running the water plant," said Gong.