The Sustainable development of China-built African infrastructure projects:A case study of Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway and Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit projects

　　China has been committed to help Africa address the infrastructure deficit, a bottleneck to development through financing, construction and operation. Infrastructure cooperation has been a key area in both 10 Major Cooperation Plans and Eight Major Initiatives announced at FOCAC. The sustainability of infrastructure is crucial for the trade, investment and industrial development of African countries and thus become an issue of intensive debate. The Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway and Addis Ababa Light Rail Transit, which aim at regional interconnection and strive to integrate the railway construction and local industries, are instructive to the infrastructure construction of the African continent as a whole. The idea is to drive the industrial, economic and social development along the railway, which will in turn support the sustainable operation of railways with industrial development.

　　This research project will combine field studies and desk research to explore the following the aspects. (1) The construction and operation experiences of Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway as a cross-border infrastructure project and how the design and implementation of industrial parks along the railway proceed; (2) The construction and operation experiences of Addis Ababa LRT as an urban transportation infrastructure project; (3) On the basis of above mentioned two aspects, summarize the achievements achieved and experiences gathered in the sustainable development of China-built infrastructure projects in Africa; (4) Further analyze the risks and challenges facing China's infrastructure cooperation with Africa; (5) Provide policy recommendations to the sustainable development of China-built infrastructure projects and feasibility of the future planned projects.