Recently, the International SOS Foundation announced the finalists of its 2021 Global Duty of Care Awards. CMEC-undertaken Cameroon water plant project was nominated for the Best Sustainable Development Award, representing the only Chinese company for the award this year.

The award was themed “Empowering the Future of Workforce Resilience: Redefining Duty of Care in a COVID-19 World”, with the seven prizes to be determined by a panel of experts representing internationally recognised and industry-leading organisations. The award recognizes companies for their outstanding programs and best practices in protecting the health, safety, security and well-being of their employees worldwide over the past year. The finalists include leading global technology groups, financial institutions, NGOs, and manufacturers from 24 industries across 29 countries and regions.

The Cameroon water work, with a capacity of 300,000m3/d, will significantly alleviate the shortage of drinking water for inhabitants of Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, and of towns along its pipeline. The water plant will benefit more than 2,500,000 people, improve sanitary conditions and reduce the incidence of water-borne diseases, thereby cutting health expenditure and easing the burden on the needy. It offers development opportunities to the local building-materials industry, recruits and trains a host of skilled workers, and improves social security and stability for benefits of local people and delivers infrastructure to local communities for the sustainable development.