Recently, China and Honduras established diplomatic relations. Before the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the builders of PowerChina had forged a profound friendship with the people of Honduras.

As a natural extension of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Latin America has become an indispensable and important participant in the construction of the Belt and Road. PowerChina came to this unremarkable Central American country located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea to build the Patuca III Hydropower Station, Honduras' first large-scale hydropower project in 30 years. In 2019, the construction of the Arenal Hydropower Station started again. The two hydropower stations have shortened the distance between the hearts of the two peoples and witnessed the profound friendship between the two peoples.

Patuca III Hydropower Station

The Honduras Patuca III hydropower project is located 50 kilometers south of Juticalpa, the capital of Olancho, and about 200 kilometers away from the capital Tegucigalpa. The hydropower station officially started construction on September 21, 2015, and completed the construction of the main project in early 2020. It was connected to the grid for power generation on December 20 of the same year. After the hydropower station is put into operation, the average annual power generation is expected to reach 326 GWh, providing 4% of the electricity for the country's power system, further alleviating the state of power shortage in Honduras, and injecting new impetus into local economic development.

This project is of extraordinary significance to both Honduras and China. This is the first large-scale hydropower project that Honduras has started construction in 30 years, and it is also the first time that China has used Chinese financing for a project in a country that has not yet established diplomatic relations. The project construction has created a precedent for Chinese-funded enterprises to use the buyer's credit model under the national sovereign guarantee to promote project implementation in a country that has not established diplomatic relations.

The Patuca III hydropower station in Honduras has received high attention from the government and society of the country. Local media said that the project has performed well and is of great significance, and will be recorded in the history of Honduras. During the construction process, the project department continued to promote localized construction, allowing local employees participating in the construction to master a skill. Actively fulfilling the social responsibilities of central enterprises, donating construction materials, learning and sporting goods to local schools, repairing roads for local communities, etc., has received high attention and repeated reports from local mainstream newspapers, and won good reputation and reputation for Chinese enterprises.

arena hydropower station

The good performance of the Patuca III Hydropower Station allowed PowerChina to win the construction of the Arenal Hydropower Station. The Arenal Hydropower Station is located on the YAGUALA River in Yoro Province, northern Honduras, with a total installed capacity of 60 MW. The project started on February 15, 2019, the closure of the dam was completed on April 1, the concrete pouring of the dam foundation was carried out on September 22, and the water was successfully impounded on October 26, 2021. On February 15, 2022, the Arenal Hydropower Station successfully signed a provisional handover certificate. On April 26, 2022, the open overflow surface of the dam of the hydropower project successfully passed the water, and the water storage of the dam was a complete success, which further enhanced the influence and credibility of Chinese enterprises in the Honduras market, and further deepened the development of Honduras for Power China The market has laid a solid foundation.

In 2020, in the face of the global new crown epidemic and the once-in-a-century twin hurricanes, the project will achieve normalization of epidemic construction and grid management, while dredging landslide roads, donating concrete for road repairs to the local government, etc., to minimize the loss of the disaster . The project department actively promotes the construction of localization, continuously intensifies the training and use of foreign executives and local foremen, attaches great importance to the optimization and training of local engineers and foremen, takes advantage of the localized management model, and creates employment opportunities for the local .

The distance of more than 14,000 kilometers and the time difference of 14 hours cannot be separated from the hand of friendship extended by the people of the two countries. Before the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two hydropower stations witnessed the friendship between China and Honduras. It is conceivable that more Chinese builders will come here in the future, and together with the local people, they will describe this beautiful country on the Caribbean coast. Editor/He Yuting