Pandemic prevention training on the construction site of the Dumanjug Converter Station in Cebu, Philippines.

Safety technical disclosure information provide before construction resumes on the LALA Converter Station in Cebu.

Cebu, Philippines - “And a one-to-two-meter distance from your colleagues is required,” said the Chinese trainers to the workers here in Cebu at Dumanjug Converter Station, part of the Mindanao-Visayas Interconnection Project (MVIP) led by China Southern Power Grid in the Philippines.

Concurrently on the same day, workers on the construction site of LALA Converter Station, also in Cebu, said, “in addition to the pandemic prevention training, the daily task of loading concrete placing has also been arranged according to the current construction plans.”

At both the converter stations, Philippine doctors were on-hand to test the body temperatures of all workers entering the construction stations and provided pandemic prevention training … while Chinese technicians provided numerous safety technical disclosures.

On June 16, more than 230 workers entered the construction sites of the two converter stations, which marked the prompt resumption of China Southern Power Grid's first international DC EPC project that had been suspended for 82 days due to the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic.

“The project department will carry forward the positive determined spirit of the MVIP Project by tackling whatever challenges difficulties. With CSG's advanced management techniques, we expect to have each of our workers devoted to their resumption of work and production and making up for the many weeks of lost time,” said Cai Shang, head of the MVIP Project in the Philippines.

On June 15, 2020, the Project Department of the MVIP Project in Cebu received the “Notice on Resuming Onsite Work from the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP).”

Then the two construction sites immediately resumed their respective construction work.

Mr. Cai added, “By June 19, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines reached 27,799. So far, as the fight against coronavirus continues to be stressful, so too has been the coordination of construction resources. We have missed the best time for construction during the lockout period but now the construction pressure on the workers will quickly surge forward as the rainy season is coming.”

Significantly impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak, Philippine officials suddenly ordered all projects to be locked down on Wednesday March 25. The CSG Project Department immediately evacuated workers from the site and tightened security to protect the final products and equipment for construction.

During the lockout, daily necessities such as pandemic prevention supplies and rice were distributed freely to the Philippine workers to “tide them over” during the COVID-19 crisis. Additionally, Chinese workers of this project continued research and design efforts, manufacturing needed construction equipment and the receiving of on-site products from their homes. All construction drawings were given top priority of communication between the Cebu site(s) and China Southern Power Grid in China … as these determined efforts collectively served to lessened the unfavorable impacts of the outbreak.

In addition, CSG senior managers have kept in touch with the local government in Cebu and the NGCP as the Company adopted several pandemic prevention measures as well as advance preparation for the resumption of construction work. On receiving the notice of resumption, the Cebu-based project was resumed without delay.

Four measures were taken to support the resumption:

1. Making technical security disclosures before resumption began. The CSG Project Department made security technical disclosures to each worker before resumption according to the Company’s approved safety precaution plans.

2. Building a “wall for pandemic prevention” on the construction site. Before the resumption of construction at the Cebu sites, all the offices, living accommodations and construction areas were professionally cleaned and sterilized. The living and construction areas were then separated from each other. Hand hygiene facilities were also set up at each construction site. Moreover, an infirmary with one nurse, two nurse attendants and necessary medicine was maintained at both construction stations.

3. Reserving construction materials. The supply of construction machines and materials in Cebu was purchased and ready one month early for the planned re-start of construction with additional follow-up supplies slated to be transported successively based on the on-going construction progress.

4. All construction workers were tested for antibodies to COVID-19 prior to entering either construction site. By June 18, a total of 230 members of administrative staff and workers had been back on site, all had gone through Rapid Antibody testing with a printed report before entering. So far, there have been no reported infected cases among the returned workers.

In the future, the Project Department of the MVIP Project will build a “platform of success” to export CSG's technology and present its advanced DC technology to the international community by making full use of all the joint advantages which have allowed for the full resumption of work on the Cebu project.