On the plateau in northwestern Argentina, the sun had just risen from the horizon, and Xu Xintao drove to the site of the Belgrano Freight Railway Reconstruction Project and started his day's work. The project, undertaken by China Machinery Engineering Corporation, connects the Argentine inland and ports, helping the country's high-quality agricultural products to be sold around the world.

Bay Railway Reconstruction Project

Xu Xintao is responsible for the on-site engineering supervision of the project in Salta Province, and needs to shuttle back and forth between 15 project sites in Salta Province. The work is mainly to improve the quality of project construction, adjust the construction progress of the project, monitor the construction quality, investment, construction period, etc., and help the construction team improve economic efficiency while ensuring construction safety. Xu Xintao was both professional and proud when he introduced the work situation. In the past few years, the overall completion ratio of the project has exceeded 80%, and the transportation capacity of the Beihai Railway has been greatly improved.

According to Xiao Yao, head of the Argentine branch of China Machinery Engineering Corporation, the annual transportation volume of Beihai Railway has increased significantly from 760,000 tons in 2013 to the current 2.65 million tons. The project also provided 4,800 direct jobs, driving the development of people's livelihood in the provinces along the line. According to Lanzoda, the former minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Communications of Argentina, with the implementation of the railway reconstruction project, the cost of land transportation in inland provinces will be reduced by 80%, and the project will also improve the capacity and efficiency of domestic railways. Producers far away from logistics center cities will reintegrate into the production system and benefit.

The climate on the plateau is arid, and there is sand blowing on the project site from time to time, and the maximum temperature during the day is nearly 40 degrees Celsius. During the Spring Festival, Xu Xintao ran around the project site as usual. I drive by myself, and sometimes there is no mobile phone signal on the road, so I feel a little lonely. 2023 will be his seventh year in Argentina. Since the Argentine construction team does not have a holiday for the Spring Festival, he and his Chinese colleagues cannot return to China to reunite with their families every year. Every holiday, we take turns staying at the project site. In 2023, it will be my turn to celebrate the New Year in Argentina. He said that although he could not meet his relatives and friends, he still felt very happy to be able to usher in the Year of the Rabbit with other colleagues who worked together!

There are many builders like Xu Xintao working hard on the railway reconstruction project spanning more than a dozen provinces in Argentina. Since the official start of the project in 2014, the railway reconstruction project has greatly improved the speed and stability of freight trains. Argentina's high-quality soybeans, wheat, corn and other agricultural products are sold all over the world through this railway. In recent years, the rich mineral resources in northern Argentina have attracted much attention, and the significance of the Beitie Railway Reconstruction Project to local economic development has become more prominent.

Xu Xintao told reporters that although it is full of hardships to stick to overseas all the year round, everyone feels that the effort is worthwhile. Editor/He Yuting