The Shandong Overseas Engineering Construction & Development Alliance was established on Nov 27 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province.

The alliance is an industrial non-profit social organization formed by Shandong-based enterprises and institutions engaged in overseas engineering projects.

It is meant to encourage Shandong engineering enterprises to explore overseas markets, improve their ability to contract international projects, and expand their influence in international markets.

Wu Shuyi, chairman of Qingjian Group, a construction company based in Qingdao, Shandong, was elected first president of the alliance council.

Qingjian Group signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with TNT Construction & Trading, an Ethiopian company, at the launch ceremony, and other cooperation agreements were signed by local construction companies and institutions.

Official statistics showed that Shandong companies are engaged in overseas construction projects in more than 50 countries and regions. In 2018, they carried out 54.94 billion yuan ($7.82 billion) in overseas projects, up 15 percent year on year. By the end of October, the output value of the province's overseas construction projects had reached 44.89 billion yuan, up 23.7 percent year on year.

Local authorities said that since the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20), construction companies in Shandong have gradually changed from labor subcontracting to independent contracting and integration of investment and construction as they have become more internationally competitive. A list of the world's 250 largest international contractors in 2019 published by ENR, an American engineering magazine, included 10 Shandong companies, accounting for nearly one seventh of all Chinese companies on the list.

The Shandong Overseas Engineering Construction & Development Alliance is established on Nov 27 in Jinan, capital of Shandong province. [Photo/e23.cn]

Participants sign cooperation agreements at the alliance's launch ceremony. [Photo/e23.cn]