News in SHP

Speech at opening ceremony of 2002 Sino-African SHP training workshop

Dr. Chen Shengshui, Director of HRC

Good morning !
Dear colleagues,
I am honored to be with you this morning. You all came far away from Africa to Hangzhou! On behalf of all HRC staff, I'd like to extend my warm welcome to you for attending the 2002 Sino-African SHP Training Work-shop.

This training workshop has been sponsored by Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, as part of China's contribution to South-South Cooperation or TCDC activities. TCDC means technical cooperation among the developing countries, to share the expertise, the facilities and the financial cost among the developing countries.

HRC has been active in promoting the global SHP development in the past years and you have become part of this process! So far 589 inter-national participants from over 60 countries attended the training pro-grams that HRC conducted. Our SHP missions for SHP feasibility study, design or construction supervision have been implemented over 30 countries in the world.

Recently, I have been appointed by the Chinese government as Director of HRC and I will do my best with my colleagues including you-our African friends committed to promoting the SHP construction in the developing countries.

China is vast and rich in hydropower resources, accounting for 680 mil kW, of which 380 mil kW is the exploitable resources. The SHP exploitable resource is around 87 mil kW. However, the installed capacity of SHP exploited only reached around 30% of the total exploitable
SHP resource. The three batches of constructing over 600 counties of primary rural electrification program in China have been completed. Now, Chinese government has decided to set up 400 rural electrification counties during 2000 and 2005 as the fourth batch. With the increase of SHP in-stalled capacity and the development of local grids, the SHP in China has become a new and proven industry with unique features. In the recent years, the State advocates reducing the electricity price for the rural farmers and reforming the electricity sup-ply as a commodity into market oriented operation. A series of favor-able policies that the Chinese central and local governments adopted to stimulate the exploitation of SHP have resulted in the large-scale SHP construction, rural grid improvement, SHP station technical renovation and cultivated the market of SHP technology and equipment.

China and the African countries belong to the developing countries. With the holding of Sino-African Forum in Beijing two years ago, Sino-African ties have been strengthened considerably. In 2001, the first Sino-African SHP training workshop was run at HRC and altogether 9 participants attended. It is much expected that with your active participation, more SHP cooperative projects could hopefully be set up between HRC and the African countries.

Participants, Hangzhou is a well-known city of long standing in China and it served as capital of China for over 200 years in the Chinese history. With the implementation of reform and opening policy during the past 20 years in China, tremendous changes have taken place around the city. Apart from your study of SHP technology to serve your own country in the promotion of SHP development after going back, you'll have chances to see and experience what is going on in Hangzhou and in the other Chinese coastal areas.

Over one month study here at HRC is not long, however, I do hope you could benefit from the exchange of SHP experience and technology, and strengthen the international co-operation of SHP among various countries. We share the same objective: To stimulate the exploitation of SHP which is a renewable and environmentally sound energy appropriate for the vast rural areas in the developing countries.

Finally, I wish your study fruitful and your stay pleasant!