China Overseas Engineering Group

China Overseas Engineering Group Co., Ltd. known as COVEC is a Chinese construction and engineering company that is subsidiary of China Railway Group Limited, which is organized as a large collection of engineering and design firms.

The company premiered in South Africa in 2006 when it won a 425-million rand public tender held by Trans-Caledon Tunnel Authority, the state agency responsible for bulk water infrastructure.[1] The selection of COVEC was described by a local trade publication as unsettling to the other short listed bidders, two local construction consortia. One consisted of Group Five Construction, Grinaker-LTA, Rainbow Construction and WBHO Construction; the other was Vaal Civils, made up of Concor, CCC, Kgalagadi Multi Projects, Thuso Water, SET-MAK Civils, Mascrete and Betsy Building.[1] COVEC's bid was 25% below the lowest other bid, and as a consequence local construction companies expressed fears about downward price pressure that would end hopes they had of a strong rebound in the construction market with better profit margins.[1]

In Morocco, COVEC built the 67 km section of the Fez-Oujda road extending from Taza to Guercif.[2] The project presented difficulties in terrain and geology for COVEC, requiring the levelling of hills and valleys and provision of porous materials that would provide adequate drainage in a region with water absorbing soil.[2]

In Poland, COVEC,[3] won the bid for construction of a highway linking Warsaw with city of Berlin in September 2009, but didn't manage to complete construction and withdrew its operations from Poland, and is now facing the threat of a €200 million compensation claim, which include four month of projected toll losses and 10 percent fine.[4] Highway was planned to be ready for use at the time when UEFA Euro 2012 in Poland would begin, BÖGL a KRÝSL took construction after COVEC reneged contract and finished it on time.