ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Aug. 17, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- XCMG officially began the 2016 water cellar project in Ethiopia on August 4, building the first water cellar in Oda Nebe primary school in the capital city Addis Ababa.

As part the company's "For Better Life" global public welfare campaign featuring 14 precisely positioned projects, XCMG is partnering with China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA) and the Ethiopian first lady's office to bring much needed help to a country that's currently experiencing its most severe drought in 30 years.

Wang Min, chairman and president of XCMG, decided that the company would provide immediate assistance when he learned of the severe drought affecting the Ethiopian people, donating RMB1.85 million (approx. USD280,000) to CFPA to establish the BlueDream foundation, which is investing RMB750,000 to build 50 water cellar cellars to help more than 4,000 villagers and students in Ethiopia.

"We chose this school near Akaki in Oromia state to build the first water cellar because more than 300 students are squashed into three poorly maintained classrooms every day without any drinking water facilities," said Abiy, XCMG's dealer in Ethiopia. "The new water cellar will solve this problem for the students and teachers."

As a solution to the drought problems, the economical and practical water cellars take advantage of the abundant rainfall in Africa's wet season and preserve the water for the dry season. Ethiopian hydraulic engineer Hune Nega said that upon learning the water cellar project was the first one donated by leading Chinese construction machinery company XCMG, he was very honored to be part of the project and share his experience in hydraulic engineering to help the children.

The first water cellar increased the water storage capacity and one small cement pit or three buffer pools will be added to keep the water clean and facilitate routine inspections.

"XCMG is using its 30 years of history in China to bring mature water cellar technologies to Ethiopia for the first time," said Ding Yadong, deputy secretary general of CFPA. "We are fully committed to the global public welfare programs with the goal of making the world a better place."

About XCMG:

XCMG is a multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company with a history of 73 years. It currently ranks ninth in the world's construction machinery industry. The company exports to more than 176 countries and regions around the world. Now the company has launched "XCMG Cup" Green Creative Design Contest to welcome environmental cleaning equipment design work worldwide at www.en.xcmg-cloud.com until September 7, 2016.

For more information, please visit: www.xcmg.com, or follow XCMG Group on Facebook, Twitter, 
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SOURCE XCMG