By Liu Xiaoshuai and Zeng Linsong
Chinese peacekeepers add protective sandbags to the new type of sentry outpost.
BEIJING, Feb. 26 (ChinaMil) -- “Thank you very much for completing the restoration project of the west gate of the Super Camp in Gao ahead of schedule and with high standards. Your dedication, bravery and responsibility are examples for other peacekeeping forces!” said the highest civil leader of the Sector East of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) to Zhang Biao, chief of the engineer detachment of the 6th Chinese peacekeeping force to Mali.
Over the years, the west gate of the Super Camp of the Sector East Command of the MINUSMA has been closed due to imperfect security facilities and the small turning radius of the entrance and exit. All vehicles and personnel had to use the north gate.
The security situation in the Gao region has deteriorated since the beginning of 2019. The west gate is directly connected to the busy R17 road, and is facing the threat of car bomb and sniper attacks.
It is reported that the specific construction task of the west gate involved rebuilding three observation outposts, breaking ways of the entrance and exit, building the checkpoint bunkers and evacuation passages, burying 12 T-shaped protective walls, filling 500 explosion-proof cages, as well as adding cheval de frise (an obstacle defence made of angled iron), road blocks, and speed humps.
In addition, the security evacuation channel was set up for the first time in the west gate. Four checkpoint bunkers with different functions including “waiting zone, inspection zone, buffer zone and passing zone” have been built for the purpose of “strict security inspection, efficient passage, and separation of entry.”
Crane operator Lin Jinyong said that road at the west gate is only seven meters wide, and the narrow space tests the professionalism of Chinese operators and on-site commanders. Considering the drainage problem in the rainy season, the west gate road inclination should be controlled at three to five degrees.
Gao is very hot and the temperature can be as high as 39 degrees Celsius. Throughout the reconstruction project, 28 construction peacekeepers worked an average of nine hours per day in 48 days. 498 sets of various construction machinery were dispatched and more than 4,000 cubic meters of earth were used. The project was highly praised by the Engineering Office, the Civil Affairs Office and the Security Office of MINUSMA for its excellent quality. The total construction period is also one-third ahead of the engineering task book scheduled.