BRI projects aid recovery in Europe amid COVID-19

Since the beginning of the pandemic in Europe in early spring, Chinese companies have been trying their best to minimize the damage to their businesses and implement their projects.

China's COSCO Shipping-operated Piraeus Port in Greece, Europe's fourth-largest port, marked an increase of 17.8 percent in container terminal revenue while ship repair revenue rose by 21.8 percent year-on-year in the first half.

In this way, the company managed to counterbalance the drastic fall in revenue from cruise ships and coastal shipping, and marked just a 5.8 percent decrease in overall turnover during the period.

Greek newspaper Kathimerini said in August that the volume of container handling dropped by just 3 percent, much lower than the 10 percent fall seen in the US and many European ports, and that Piraeus Port is "weathering the coronavirus pandemic quite well, for the time being".

In southeast Poland, Fabryka Lozysk Tocznych-Krasnik, a ball bearing manufacturer acquired by China's Tri-Ring Group, is finding ways to keep producing about 1,500 types of bearings.

"The COVID-19 crisis first paralyzed our logistics and sales, but this has been overcome as European countries lifted transportation lockdowns," said Grzegorz Jasinski, president of FLT-Krasnik.

"The company saw a tremendous bounce-back in sales, even a noticeable increase in the third quarter compared to 2019," Jasinski said.

Despite temporary losses and difficult operations, the company's 1,650 employees remained on the job.

Spasenija, 93, lives with her 66-year-old daughter Milijana near the Ulog hydropower plant, which is being constructed by China's Sinohydro in Kalinovik, some 90 km south of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

For decades their only income was Spasenija's pension until the Chinese company arrived and decided to rent their land for three years. Spasenija also got a steady income by providing potatoes and vegetables to Sinohydro.

The project has brought many jobs to locals who traditionally make a living from agriculture, forestry and fishing, and it has boosted trade and services in the area as well.

"The Chinese people working on this project have not only helped me financially, but also assured me they are true friends. They helped me excavate the trench and prepare wood for winter with their machines," she told Xinhua.

Back in Greece, Manos Tsakiltzis, a 54-year-old bus driver, recalled how he had lost his job when the virus struck the tourism industry earlier this year.

"The lockdown and the late start of the summer season with just a small percentage of arrivals compared to past years turned everything upside down in my life, my family's life," he said.

Things changed for the better after he was hired as a short-term truck driver at Piraeus Port.

Tsakiltzis said the protective measures implemented by the port were excellent and it is "a great pleasure" to work with his Chinese colleagues.

"I really appreciate it," Tsakiltzis said, referring to the new job opportunity, adding that it has helped him and his family make a living.

Other BRI projects across the region are benefiting the local community in similar ways while trying to stay on track with development schedules.