In Tanggerang New Industry City, Indonesia, the first "one stop shopping" home furnishing and building materials mall, the Samanea complex, is emerging with attractive changes in its appearance.
The complex was built by a group of Chinese workers under 30 years old in just two years, and has integrated diversified commercial services, such as food, telecommunications, finance, and logistics. It will serve Tanggerang New Industry City and capital areas, and aims to become a national commercial hub in Indonesia.
Xing Zhijun, an overseas-based worker in the China Construction Third Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of the China State Construction Engineering Corporation, is a representative of these young overseas-based workers.
He performs the role of project manager on construction projects of the Samanea Complex and Lesso factory in Indonesia.
Over the past three years, he has led a young Chinese team, with an average age of just 29, to make contributions to the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative far from home.
Samarang Lesso factory project
The Samarang Lesso factory project is an initial task of this young team. Upon completion, the factory will become one of the Lesso's overseas order centers.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the construction of the project, originally scheduled to start in May 2022, was postponed.
Facing the difficulties brought about by the pandemic, Xing Zhijun led his team in sourcing building materials by contacting domestic factories. Prefabricated pipe piles were processed and produced in China and transported to Indonesia by sea.
The project team further detailed design of the steel structure through various ways to ensure the pile foundation project could enter operation earlier. The project achieved an output value of 23 million yuan ($3.25 million) in a short period, getting off to a good start after overcoming multiple disadvantages.
Indonesia is known for its tropical rainforest climate, with the country experiencing an average of 25 days of rainfall per month during the rainy season. Affected by heavy rain that continued for a week, the team studied an implementation plan to continue construction and successfully completed the ground works.
In August 2021, the injection molding machine in the accessory workshop of the Samarang Lesso factory project was successfully launched, marking the project team having finished the delivery work one month ahead of schedule.
Samanea complex project
The successful completion of the Samarang Lesso factory project suitably impressed local business owners, resulting in the team undertaking the Samanea complex project.
Based on the project's characteristics, the team constantly explored better construction models.
For example, during the construction of the floor of MPB Tower, the team introduced the domestic construction technique featuring "aluminum formwork plus climbing frame" to Indonesia's local market. By using such techniques, the project broke the record of building one standard floor within seven days.
The construction of the complex's MPB Tower was completed in April 2022, 72 days ahead of schedule. The local people were full of praise for "Chinese speed".
Enjoying a fulfilling life overseas
Over two years living and working overseas have seen the rapid growth of this young team. In order to make their life more fulfilled, a series team building activities were carried out among this young group.
During the pandemic period at the end of 2021, Xing Zhijun organized an online open day so that the team's family members in China could learn more about their life working in Indonesia.
Cooking exchange activities were also conducted. Many young workers tried their hand at cooking for the first time; getting tips online and from their families back home.
They also invited Indonesian workers to taste Chinese food and shared their understanding of Indonesian food and culture.
The young team has fine tuned their skills through hard work over the past three years. They have spent their youth contributing to the development of the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, living a meaningful life to their fullest.
(Executive editor: Xie Yunxiao)
