On November 25, Xinneng Shipbuilding officially signed a construction and assembly contract for a 2000-deadweight-ton bulk carrier with Zambia’s Pendulum Transport & Fisheries Limited. This cooperation marks a solid step forward in China-Africa collaboration in the field of shipping equipment manufacturing.
At the signing ceremony, Zhang Qiang, Chairman of Xinneng Shipbuilding, and Bertha Chileshe, Investment and Business Director of the Cabinet Office of Zambia, signed the order contract on behalf of their respective parties. Lambwe Mwanza, Director of Legal and Compliance Affairs of the Zambian Cabinet Office, Zhang Zhiguo, General Manager of Qingdao Lamair Marine Equipment Technology Co., Ltd., and other relevant responsible persons witnessed the event on site.
The bulk carrier involved in this contract has an overall length of 70.08 meters, a beam (breadth) of 15 meters, and a designed speed of 10 knots. It is expected to be delivered in December 2026. Upon delivery, it will significantly enhance the efficiency of Zambia’s inland river logistics and inject new momentum into regional economic development.
The construction of this vessel will adopt the innovative “modular construction + remote assembly” solution pioneered by Xinneng Shipbuilding: ship sections will be prefabricated in Shandong and then shipped to Mpulungu, Zambia, using a mixed bulk and container transport method for final assembly. This model not only effectively reduces construction costs and transportation risks but also minimizes potential salt-alkali corrosion and physical damage to the vessel during ocean transport, exploring a replicable and scalable innovative pathway for the export of large Chinese inland river vessels.
To ensure the long-term stable operation of the vessel locally in the future, Xinneng Shipbuilding plans to establish an overseas office, build a localized service network, and dispatch resident professional technical teams for support. Furthermore, the company will train at least 20 Zambian ship technical workers, promoting the deep integration of Chinese shipbuilding technology with local talent development.
Bertha Chileshe stated that this cooperation not only demonstrates the comprehensive technical strength and innovation capability of China’s shipbuilding industry but also provides a new example of international production capacity cooperation for countries along the “Belt and Road” initiative. This project will significantly improve Zambia’s inland waterway transport conditions, and she looks forward to using this as a link to further expand cooperation between China and Zambia in broader areas such as shipping and manufacturing.
Previously, the two sides had already conducted in-depth exchanges on shipbuilding, port construction, and technical collaboration. Subsequently, they will use this order as an opportunity to deepen the inland waterway transport system and infrastructure construction, jointly promoting a new model of mutual benefit and win-win cooperation under the “Belt and Road” framework.
It is understood that Xinneng Shipbuilding is a subsidiary of Jining Energy Group. It is the first domestic demonstration base project in China for new energy inland river vessel manufacturing that integrates R&D design and intelligent manufacturing. Established in May 2022, it is primarily engaged in the R&D, design, manufacturing, and conversion of new energy vessels. The company covers an area of 1757 mu with a total investment of approximately 5.03 billion yuan. It possesses the capacity to build 400 inland river vessels annually ranging from 1000 to 5000 deadweight tons, and to repair and convert 100 vessels, achieving an annual sales revenue of 3.3 billion yuan. Construction of the company commenced in October 2022, trial production began in October 2023, and it was completed and put into operation in August 2024. It now possesses the capability for large-scale, batch construction of 2000 to 5000 deadweight-ton inland river new energy vessels.
In recent years, adhering to the philosophy of “building a green and intelligent shipyard, manufacturing green and intelligent ships,” Xinneng Shipbuilding has innovatively applied new technologies, new processes, new ship types, new standards, and new models to promote the modular, standardized, and batch manufacturing of vessels. It constructs lightweight, green, and intelligent inland river vessels, leads the “digital and intelligent transformation” of inland river shipbuilding, accelerates the upgrading and iteration of inland river vessels, and is committed to creating a benchmark project for domestic inland river new energy vessel manufacturing.
