Chinese Government provides $10 million grant for ECU 911 Project

In an interview with Xinhua News, the Deputy Director of Ecuador’s Integrated Security Service ECU 911, Sixto Heras, said that the Chinese Government provided $10 million to the Government of Ecuador in 2016 for the construction of a 'Comprehensive Security Systems Laboratory.' China National Electronics Import & Export Corporation (CEIEC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. The laboratory was reportedly constructed between October 7, 2016 and November 18, 2016. During Xi Jinping's 2016 state visit, he visited the ECU 911 headquarters in Quito on November 18, 2016 to inaugurate the laboratory, which includes video surveillance systems and massive data storage spaces. The surveillance system now has 16 regional response centers across the country, as well as a surveillance network with about 4,300 cameras across 24 provinces. According to Ecuador's National Statistics and Census Institute (INEC), as of January 2018, the crime rate has dropped by 11.8 percent since implementing the ECU 911 Project. According to Wang Fei, manager of CEIEC, 10 Chinese technicians with experience in software and communications work in the ‘joint laboratory’. Their assistance continued until at least 2019.

Additional details

1. The ECU 911 Project is also known as the Ecuador 911 Safety Emergency Response Command Center Project, the National Public Safety Command and Control System Project, and the ECU 911 Security Project. The Chinese project title is 中厄公共安全联合实验室. The Spanish project title is Dotación de equipamiento para el fortalecimiento del Servicio Integrado de Seguridad ECU 911 or el primer laboratorio de investigación y desarrollo para sistemas de seguridad integral. 2. The flow type is assume to be a grant because the project was reportedly financed via ‘non-refundable Chinese cooperation’ (https://www.ecu911.gob.ec/ecu-911-fortalece-su-contingente-tecnologico-con-apoyo-de-cooperacion-del-gobierno-chino/). The phrase 'China-aided' is also imprinted on the walls of the laboratory.

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