Impact of Major Public Emergencies on China's Construction Internationalization

Abstract

Major public emergencies represented by COVID-19 have a significant impact on the economic and social development of various countries as well as on China’s construction internationalization which is progressing steadily with the Belt and Road construction. In this article, we first summarize representative major public emergencies and the emergency management experiences, and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese construction enterprises in domestic and international markets. Subsequently, an overseas engineering project of a Chinese construction enterprise is used as a case for analysis. Through interviews with personnel, we analyze the impact of COVID-19 on the pumping station project in Iraq in terms of materials and equipment, work resumption and recruitment, personnel’s physical and mental health, and project performance, and summarize the effectiveness of relevant coping strategies. Furthermore, to better cope with major public emergencies, we suggest that the government and enterprises should improve the coping mechanism for major public emergencies and share emergency management data. They should also clarify the demand for engineering materials and equipment to plan transportation in advance, and pay attention to logistics risks to ensure that projects are delivered on time. Moreover, subsidies for work resumption should be increased and psychological counseling should be conducted to protect the legal rights and physical and mental health of project staff. Meanwhile, project plans should be adjusted as needed, and a risk mitigation mechanism and a long-term coping mechanism should be established to reduce project performance losses.

Keywords

• construction internationalization, major public emergencies, COVID-19, overseas construction projects