Chinese companies help Bolivian Guarani people take the fast track of happiness

In the small town of San Antonio in southeastern Bolivia, the 45-year-old Guarani Juan Pinto and his colleagues have finally celebrated the moment of their efforts for more than a year. On February 7, an important joint project of the El Espino Highway, which was constructed by China Railway Group, held the opening ceremony of the Parapetti New Bridge.

For more than half a century, although there have been accidents, this old bridge is the only way for the residents of southern San Antonio to work and live. With the opening of the new bridge, nearly half of the progress of the El Espino highway project, which began in June 2018, was completed. After the 160-kilometer highway was fully opened to traffic, the time Juan went to the provincial capital Santa Cruz Will be reduced by more than half.

"This bridge and even the entire highway project is only one of the microcosm of infrastructure cooperation under the framework of China and Bolivia's Belt and Road Initiative," said Huang Yazhong, Chinese Ambassador to Bolivia. He said that in recent years, with the joint efforts of China and Bolivia, China-Bolivia's “Belt and Road” cooperation has been at the forefront of Latin America.

As of now, the total amount of contracted projects of Chinese enterprises in Bolivia is nearly 4 billion US dollars, making it the most important contractor for Bolivia. Chinese companies have undertaken 20 road projects across the country, with a total mileage of more than 1,500 kilometers.