Chinese companies are developing infrastructure for the Iraqi education sector

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[size=52]Chinese companies are developing infrastructure for the Iraqi education sector[/size]

[size=45]BAGHDAD, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese companies, especially PowerChina, are making great efforts to improve and develop the infrastructure of the Iraqi education sector, which suffers from a major shortage in the number of school buildings.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq needs more than 12,000 schools to accommodate the number of students, which is close to 11 million, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Education.[/size]
[size=45]Iraq signed 15 contracts with the Chinese companies PowerChina and Sinotech to build 1,000 schools (the model school buildings project) as a first stage throughout Iraq to advance the educational reality that suffers as a result of the periods of wars and violence that the country went through.[/size]
[size=45]This project will contribute to bridging the shortage in the number of schools in Iraqi cities, towns and villages. It will also contribute to dismantling student momentum and reducing double shifts, which will reflect positively on the level of education in Iraq and contribute to its upgrading.[/size]
[size=45]— improving education[/size]
[size=45]Chinese companies are helping Iraq to get rid of the obstacles facing the education sector by building model school buildings that meet all the necessary conditions, which contributes to improving education.[/size]
[size=45]"The model school building project is the most important, priority and concern of the Iraqi government," Gao Fei, deputy director of PowerChina's regional office in the Middle East and North Africa, told Xinhua at a work site west of Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]He explained that about 10,000 Iraqi and Chinese workers and engineers are working hard at the project sites, noting that PowerChina will build 679 schools.[/size]
[size=45]He added, "The project will be according to high and modern quality standards and meet the practical needs of Iraq. It will solve the problem of education for about 430,000 students, and it will play a major role in improving teaching conditions in various Iraqi governorates."[/size]
[size=45]"PowerChina will do its best to fulfill the project contract, strive to create a high-quality project, make it a model project in the joint construction of the Belt and Road between China and Iraq, better meet the educational needs of the Iraqi people, and contribute China's strength and wisdom to the economic and social development of Iraq," he said.[/size]
[size=45]In turn, engineer Liu Zhenlin of PowerChina said, "PowerChina is building 144 schools in Baghdad province, and so far the basic works of the project have been completed."[/size]
[size=45]"Starting from July this year, the schools will be gradually handed over," he said.[/size]
[size=45]He concluded, "We strive to achieve the objectives of the contract in the construction process," stressing PowerChina's intention to contribute strongly to the construction in Iraq through the Belt Road initiative.[/size]
[size=45]Dream of teaching[/size]
[size=45]The teacher, Hanan Raad Al-Qaisi, dreams of teaching in one of the model schools that PowerChina is building because it has all the ingredients for success.[/size]
[size=45]"My visit to this site made me happy, and I wish and aspire to be one of the teachers in this building or school that has all the services," she told Xinhua after visiting one of the sites.[/size]
[size=45]She added, "We all hope that PowerChina will provide us with the best schools in terms of classes, health services, infrastructure, and teachers' rooms, and in all respects it serves the school, the student, and the teacher."[/size]
[size=45]She expressed her wish to generalize this experience in Iraq, saying, "I hope that PowerChina's experience will be in all parts of Iraq and serve the educational reality of Iraq, because our schools have not been rehabilitated for a long time, and they lack many health, educational, environmental and other services."[/size]
[size=45]And she concluded by saying, "I hope that such a school will be built again, and these services will be repeated in all parts of Iraq, because frankly the building is very good and the services in it are available."[/size]
[size=45]Iraq currently has more than 15,000 primary schools, governmental and private, but its actual need is about 27,000 schools, to accommodate the number of students at all stages.[/size]
[size=45]- Commendation for efforts[/size]
[size=45]Iraqi workers praised the construction of model schools for the efforts of PowerChina, stressing that they learned a lot of new experiences through it.[/size]
[size=45]"It was my first experience working with foreign companies, especially Chinese ones, and it is a very nice experience and we benefited from many skills by virtue of introducing new experiences into the country, such as the Chinese experience inside Iraq," Engineer Youssef Jamal told Xinhua.[/size]
[size=45]He added, "We found the Chinese cadres persevering with work, making continuous efforts, long working hours, serious work, and respect for time, and we are all happy with this experience."[/size]
[size=45]He stressed the importance of this project for future Iraqi generations, expressing his hope that the project of building model schools would be the beginning of building service, health and educational projects in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]He emphasized that this project introduced modernity to Iraq, saying, “With regard to Iraqi schools, we all know that their level is not good as a building. This project introduced modernity, that is, the introduction of a new building with good specifications to a country that needs such a thing.” He added, “Our future generations need this development to keep pace with development in the world.[/size]
[size=45]Jamal hopes that the project will develop by increasing the number of schools and including other sectors.[/size]
[size=45]In turn, Engineer Saif Farhan, the representative of the Iraqi government in the project, revealed that Iraq has gone through crises, wars and fighting that led to great destruction and damage to the educational infrastructure, and that it did not witness any reconstruction work during the previous period, stressing that the government has now begun construction work again.[/size]
[size=45]"The Iraqi government was keen to contract with reputable international companies, and among the first of these companies is the Chinese company PowerChina, which is an ancient and reputable company with high experience in the field of construction and has high machinery and cadres," he told Xinhua.[/size]
[size=45]The project to build a thousand schools is currently in the final stages and serves an important sector, which is the education sector in Iraq, according to Farhan, who confirmed that the education sector has not received any development in more than 20 years, revealing the government's intention to contract with sober Chinese companies on projects that include all aspects of life.[/size]
[size=45]He pointed out that Iraqi engineers are exchanging experiences with their Chinese counterparts and with Chinese companies regarding new building materials and keeping abreast of developments in work.[/size]
[size=45]Regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, Farhan said, "As an Iraqi government and as an Iraqi people, we welcome this initiative, and we saw its signs in the previous projects, such as the school building project that serves a large segment of the Iraqi people and will be a good sign for many projects in all areas of Iraqi infrastructure, and the next is better."[/size]
[size=45]He explained that building a thousand schools is the first phase out of 8,000 schools, noting that the second phase will include three thousand and the third phase four thousand schools, saying, “Certainly, a very big difference will be made in the field of education in Iraq.”[/size]
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