By Foday Moriba Conteh
The Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone, Ambassador Hu Zhangliang, has on the 19th February 2022 visited the LV Yuan Wood and Furniture Company located at Songo, Rotifunk Road, 200 meters away from Makoloh Roundabout to Songo Highway. The visit to the factory by the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone was to endorse and encourage green development and local production within the ambit of China-Sierra Leone Cooperation.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone Hu Zhangliang expressed delight for visiting the LV Yuan Wood and Furniture Company, adding that China has entered a new stage of higher level development of which he said HE Chinese President Xl Jinping has put forward the development philosophy, which stresses innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development and that green development is now one of the key components of China’s comprehensive development strategy.
He intimated that the China-Africa cooperation has been elevated to a higher level, stating that at the 8thMinisterial Conference of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) held in Senegal last year, China and Africa set green development as one of the priority
areas of future cooperation.
“To my joy, the LV YUAN Wood and Furniture (SL) Company Limited and Madame Sunny, the dynamic Chinese business-lady are actively implementing China’s new development philosophy and its new guidelines for China-Africa Cooperation by setting up the Song Timber Factory,” Hu Zhangliang further expressed how he is highly impressed.
He maintained that he is glad to know that the factory not just makes good use of timber to make value-added wood products locally, but also offer saplings to the community residents for the reforestation of the country, intimating that the factory provides 600 job opportunities for the local people while employing only about 15 Chinese technicians, which he described as a concrete step in realizing local content and results in a win-win situation.
“I hope this factory and all the other Chinese invested companies in Sierra Leone will as always abide by the laws and regulations of the land strictly respect the traditions and customs of our local friends, ensure the legitimate interests and welfare of the employees are enhanced, and make more contribution to the development of the local society through a win-win cooperation,” the Ambassador expressed optimism.
Hu Zhangliang said that he is with the strong conviction that the Government and people of Sierra Leone will continue to support and protect such commendable investments, take good care of the legitimate concerns and interests of the investors and make them feel at
home in doing their businesses.
On his part, the Manager of the LV Yuan Wood and Furniture SL Company Limited, Leon Lee, commended the Chinese Ambassador for visiting their factory which he described as a move in the right direction towards fulfilling his purpose in endorsing and encouraging green development and local production in the China-Sierra Leone Cooperation.
He revealed that the factory was set up on the 11th January, 2021, and officially started production on the 15th May 2021, adding that the factory is covering an area of 220,000 square meters which is divided into four areas which includes the workshop, warehouse, solar energy exhibition hall, grinding and sawing rooms, generator rooms, staff dormitories.
Leon Lee maintained that the factory not just makes good use of timber to make value-added wood products locally, but also contribute saplings to the community for the reforestation of the country, of which he revealed that at present the factory provides 600 job opportunities for the local people while employing only about 15 Chinese technicians.
The Local Staff of the LV Yuan Wood and Furniture Company who spoke during the ceremony applauded the company for establishing such an investment in the country.
They also commended the company for the support the company has been rendering to them since its inception.
They further called on other investors to follow the footprint of the company which they said will contribute positively towards the overall development of the country.
