2017年CRI Critical stage completed on China-backed bridge in Maldives

 

Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen (left) inspects the construction site of the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge in December 2016. [Photo:Sasac.gov.cn]

All the 35 piles designed to support the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge in the Maldivian capital Malé have now been completed ahead of schedule.

The bridge, being built by the China Communications Construction Company and part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, will connect Malé with the island of Hulhulé, where the Malé International Airport is located.

The bridge project was announced in 2014 during a visit to the Maldives by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Yang Yin, Charge d'Affaires ad interim¹ at the Chinese Embassy in the Maldives, said the bridge and related construction are set to bring significant social and economic benefits to the people of the Maldives and its visitors.

"The Maldives has the highest per capital GDP in South Asia. Its government has actively² participated in China's 'Belt and Road' initiative. Infrastructure³ construction now leads our cooperation under the initiative, with the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge as a major example," said Yang.

Once completed, the 1.39-km-long, 20.3-meter-wide bridge will feature two lanes for automobiles⁴, as well as lanes for bikes, motorcycles and pedestrians⁵. It will also serve a major government project, which includes plans to relocate around 70% of the Maldives' population, currently scattered⁶ across various islands in the archipelago, to a new urban development center in Hulhulé.

The Maldivian Minister of Housing and Infrastructure, Mohamed Muizzu, says the bridge will bring much needed changes to his country.

"The Maldives is geographically⁷ in a different way compared to many countries. We have many small islands that people live on. There is a big issue in transportation between each island. Because of the difficulty in transportation between the two, we are not able to deliver development at a speed that we want. The project opens the door for development. By land you can travel between the two cities. It brings a huge change," said Muizzu.

Even though the Maldives is known as a tropical tourist destination, the local conditions that draw them, such as high temperatures and the humidity, along with radiation and salt content, have created tremendous challenges for the construction of the bridge. However, the team from the Chinese side says it has managed to customize its construction plans based on the local environment, while overcoming a number of unimaginable difficulties.

"The Maldives may be a paradise for tourists, it is also a very challenging place for such construction. But overall, to date, we have managed to tackle all the obstacles we had anticipated. Generally speaking, the construction is going well according to our plan. We have met the safety and progress requirements set out by the governments," said Liu Ling, a representative overseeing the project from China’s Ministry⁸ of Commerce.

The China-Maldives Friendship Bridge is expected to be completed sometime around the middle of next year.

1 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

2 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

5 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

7 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。