Belt and Road Initiative spurs Central Asia's transport transformation: industry expert

An industry expert has highlighted the significant development of Central Asia's transportation infrastructure under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), commending China's leading role in enhancing the region's efficient and interconnected transport networks.

Speaking in an interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) from Beijing on Sunday, Jonathan Campion, senior editor at the Times of Central Asia, elaborated on the BRI's transformative impact.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has simply massively speeded up the development of Central Asia's transport potential that some Central Asia has written a lot about the development of multimodal transportation and new transit routes to the countries of the region. These materials really resonate with our readers. I would add that China has taken lead in developing Central Asia's transport networks. China is investing not only in new highways linking it with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan but much further west. It's implementing new seaports in the Caspian region, in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. Ultimately, Central Asia is evolving as a land bridge component, the Belt and Road Initiative linking China to the Caspian Sea and Europe further onwards," said Campion.

Campion also emphasized the BRI's role in unlocking the region's vast natural resources, particularly as the world transitions to greener technologies.

"We are seeing the investments in transport infrastructure are unlocking the region's vast natural resources. With the whole world making a green transition, Kazakhstan stands out as it has an abundance of critical materials, or green metals as they're known, that are used in the components of green technologies. So yes, we're looking forward to this meeting in Kazakhstan, and Kazakhstan is a crucial gateway country between East and West and also between North and South," he said.

Belt and Road Initiative spurs Central Asia's transport transformation: industry expert

Wushi 23-5, an environmentally friendly oilfield cluster, was put into operation in south China's Guangdong Province on Monday, its operator China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) said.

Comprising 46 production wells in the eastern waters of the Beibu Gulf, Wushi 23-5 can achieve a peak daily crude oil output of over 2,000 tons.

"From design, construction, to production, the oilfield cluster adopts environmentally friendly and low-carbon technologies throughout the entire cycle. We have also achieved zero discharge and zero pollution for the water used in production. It is the first oilfield in the Beibu Gulf to be supplied with electricity from shore, reducing the annual offshore gas consumption equivalent to 20,000 tons of standard coal," said Dai Yi, general manager of the Wushi oilfield operation company under the CNOOC Zhanjiang Branch.

The cluster also features a comprehensive production mode that encompasses oil and gas production, gathering, processing, and sales. Its processing technology can effectively converts associated natural gas into liquefied natural gas (LNG) and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), for storage, loading and transportation.

"Taking the development of Wushi 23-5 oilfield cluster as an opportunity, we have promoted local green industries including local fishing-photovoltaic complementary projects and development of offshore wind resources. This serves as a demonstration for the low-carbon transformation of offshore oil exploration and production," said Deng Yong, deputy general manager of the CNOOC Zhanjiang Branch.

Environmentally friendly oilfield cluster Wushi 23-5 starts operation