Social change

The power plant has brought a series of unexpected changes to the country. Although the infrastructure construction of Equatorial Guinea started late, local government is committed to improving education and established a number of schools nationwide. However, limited access to electricity hampered local students’ learning progress.

Aware of its social responsibility, since 2007 Liu’s company donated $2 million to build several primary schools and a technology school. It has also donated school materials on a regular basis, and thus developed a good relationship with villagers in the area.

However, it is the hydropower plant and the renovation and expansion project of the Bata grid that completely changed local people’s lives. The Bata grid project enabled electricity generated by the Djiploho Hydropower Station to be transmitted to urban and rural areas of Equatorial Guinea, which has helped transform the way of teaching in local schools.

Local children are now able to have access to light, watch films and local TV programs. They learned about Chinese kungfu, martial art master Bruce Lee and China’s Three Gorges Dam through films.

Several senior villagers have retained the construction tools and equipment given to them by Chinese workers who helped build the first small hydropower station in Bata City