On the morning of November 28, the opening ceremony for Seminar on Infrastructure Planning and Construction for Nigeria 2019, which was sponsored by Ministry of Commerce of the PRC and organized by Training Base of International Commerce Officers (Shanghai) of SBS, was held at Xuhui Campus. Chen Wei, Associate Dean of School of Continuing Education, was present at the opening ceremony for the seminar.

Infrastructure construction acts as an important support for the national development and it also measures the civilization degree of a country. It is a material condition for the coordinated development of the country's economy and society. However, it also constitutes the major bottleneck for economic development in many developing countries. “Seminar on Infrastructure Planning and Construction for Nigeria 2019” is designed to promote exchange and cooperation between China and Nigeria in the domain of infrastructure construction and provide Nigeria with Chinese experience in infrastructure construction and planning, share China’s achievements in aspects of planning and construction of infrastructure, and open a new window of opportunity for both countries so that they can complement each other's advantages and realize open development.

The current session lasted for 21 days, and government officials engaging in the planning and construction of infrastructure in Nigeria totaling 22 ones attended the seminar. Experts and scholars specialized in relevant domains from Shanghai Water Authority, Shanghai Academy of Social Science, Shanghai Urban Planning and Design Research Institute etc. would be invited to the seminar and they would share their practical experience and research achievements in the planning and construction of infrastructure with the trainees on the theme of overall urban planning and implementation in Shanghai and urban road systematic planning and constructional method etc. On-the-spot investigations will be arranged for the students at Shanghai Urban Planning Exhibition Center, Shanghai Tower and Shanghai Subway Museum etc. so that the students have opportunities to have close observation of Shanghai's practices in infrastructure planning and construction. Before the seminar is concluded, the trainees will go to Changsha, Hunan Province and Shenzhen, Guangdong Province for investigation and further understanding of the development status of infrastructure construction in China.

Mr. Kabir AminuDutse, a trainee representative from Nigerian Federal Ministry of Engineering delivered a speech and said that, “thanks to Chinese leader's foresight, sagacity and spirit of utter devotion, China’s economy is developing rapidly and it has made great improvement in the planning and construction of infrastructure. The friendly relations and cooperation between China and Nigeria are further cemented as China provides selfless assistance to Nigeria in sectors such as electric power, railway and highway etc. which greatly improves Nigeria’s development level of infrastructure construction. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Shanghai Business School for this opportunity, and I believe that the seminar will provide guidance to Nigeria in the domain of infrastructure planning and construction. We strongly hope to bring the knowledge and concepts that we have learned in China to our country.”

Currently, the seminar is proceeding in a well-organized way.

Drafted by Li Yujing

Photographed by Li Yujing

Reviewed by Chen Wei

Edited by Wu Guojun