ベナン
西アフリカ?ベナンで始まった多国籍チームの挑戦
The challenge of a multinational team that began in Benin, West Africa
こんにちは！児玉です。
私はいま、西アフリカのベナン共和国にいます。日本から飞行机を乗り継ぎ约25时间、ベナンから日本までの距离は约13,500办尘と远く、日本との时差はマイナス8时间で、朝晩がほぼ逆転した生活を送っています。
Hello! I'm Kodama.
I am currently in the Republic of Benin in West Africa. It takes about 25 hours by plane with connections from Japan, the distance from Benin to Japan is about 13,500km, and there is an 8-hour time difference with Japan, so I'm living a life where morning and evening are almost reversed.
ベナンはギニア湾に面し、ナイジェリアとトーゴに挟まれています。年间平均気温27℃の高温多湿な気候で、人口约1,400万人に対し、在留日本人はわずか60人程度。首都はポルトノボで、経済の中心はギニア湾に面した、港を有するコトヌーです。公用语はフランス语で、英语はほぼ通じません。
Benin faces the Gulf of Guinea and is sandwiched between Nigeria and Togo. It has a hot and humid climate with an average annual temperature of 27℃, and while the population is approximately 14 million, there are only about 60 Japanese residents. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the economic center is Cotonou, which faces the Gulf of Guinea and has a port. The official language is French, and English is hardly understood.
私はコトヌーに住んでいます。2～3阶建ての白涂りのコンクリートブロック製の家がほとんどで、高层ビルはありません。建物の数が少なく道路が広いため、全体的にすっきりとした印象を受けます。现在、海岸线や街のあらゆるところで、インフラ整备の工事が行われているため、今后が楽しみです。
I live in Cotonou. Most of the houses are 2-3 story white-painted concrete block buildings, and there are no high-rise buildings. With fewer buildings and wide roads, the overall impression is clean and spacious. Currently, infrastructure development work is being carried out along the coastline and throughout the city, so I'm looking forward to the future.
I was surprised that the main roads were paved and there was no litter scattered throughout the city.
私がコトヌーでの生活で一番伝えたいことは、ベナン人がよく挨拶をするということです。登下校の学生も、ただすれ违うだけの若者も、店の前に座っているおばちゃんも、老若男女问わず、本当によく笑颜で声をかけてくれます。だいたいいつも「ニーハオ」と言われますが、覚えたての「ボンジュール」で挨拶を返します。改めて、挨拶する気持ちよさを感じます。
What I want to convey most about my life in Cotonou is that Beninese people greet each other very often. Students going to and from school, young people just passing by, elderly women sitting in front of shops - regardless of age or gender, they really call out to me with smiles. They usually say "Ni Hao" to me, but I respond with a greeting using either "Bonjour" that I've just learned. It makes me feel anew the pleasantness of greeting others.
一方で、悲惨な歴史に触れるときもあります。ベナンでは、昔、ヨーロッパ人による奴隷贸易が盛んに行われていました。くぐると二度と戻ることはないという意味から名付けられた「帰らずの门」がコトヌーの隣のウィダーという街にあります。また、奴隷になることから逃がれた人々の子孙が现在もノクエ湖で水上生活を送っています。约4万人の水上生活者がおり、アフリカ最大の水上都市（ガンビエ）として知られています。
On the other hand, we sometimes encounter tragic history. In Benin, the slave trade by Europeans was once flourishing. There is a "Door of No Return" in the town of Ouidah, next to Cotonou, which was named with the meaning that once you pass through it, you would never return. Additionally, descendants of people who escaped from becoming slaves still live on the water in Lake Nokoué today. There are about 40,000 people living on the water, and it is known as Africa's largest floating city (Ganvié).
The "Door of No Return" symbolizing the tragic history of the slave trade
そんなベナンで当社が携わっているのが 「コトヌ市ベドコ交差点立体交差建設工事 フェーズ1」です。当工事は、ギニア湾沿岸を东西に结ぶ「アビジャン?ラゴス回廊」と、コトヌ市中心部を横断する都市干线道路が交わる、市内で渋滞が最も深刻な一つの交差点を立体化するものです。
2025年8月26日に着工し、2027年9月25日竣工予定です。长さ270ｍの桥桁桥建设と道路の改修を行う重要な国家プロジェクトで、日本政府の无偿资金协力（翱顿础）によって実施されており、当社にとって初めての西アフリカにおける工事です。
In Benin, our company is involved in "The Project for The Construction of Interchange Vedoko Intersection in the Cotonou city." This project involves creating a flyover at one of the city's most severely congested intersections, where the "Abidjan-Lagos Corridor" that connects the Guinea Gulf coast from east to west intersects with the main urban arterial road that crosses through central Cotonou.
Construction began on August 26, 2025, with completion scheduled for September 25, 2027. This is an important national project involving the construction of a 270-meter girder bridge and road improvements, implemented through grant aid cooperation (ODA) from the Japanese government, and represents our company's first construction project in West Africa.
Completion plan drawing
Site conditions as of December 2025
私が现场事务所に来て不思议に感じたことは、现场所长の石井さんが、さまざまな言语でスタッフに挨拶していたことです。なんと7か国の异なる国籍のスタッフが働いていました。今まで当社スタッフとして一绪に海外工事を経験した、フィリピン人、ベトナム人、タンザニア人、バングラディッシュ人、中国人、日本人が、初めてのベナンでの工事のために集まり、ローカルスタッフと一绪に、工事だけでなくフランス语にもチャレンジしないといけないというこの状况は、なかなか経験できないと思います。
What struck me as strange when I came to the site office was that Mr. Ishii, the site manager, was greeting staff in various languages. Amazingly, staff from seven different nationalities were working there. Filipino, Vietnamese, Tanzanian, Bangladeshi, Chinese, and Japanese staff who had previously worked together on overseas construction projects as our company employees had gathered for their first construction project in Benin, and the situation where they had to challenge not only the construction work but also the French language together with local staff is something that would be quite difficult to experience elsewhere.
もう一つ惊いたのは、事务所の中に、ベナン人の日本语通訳がいることです。昔、ビートたけしさんの付き人をやっていたタレントのゾマホンさんが、ベナンに初の「たけし日本语学校」を设立しました（现在も运営されています）。彼はそこの卒业生です。アフリカには、フランス语を公用语としている国が西アフリカと中央アフリカにあります。彼のようなフランス语と日本语を话すことができるローカルスタッフは、この现场だけではなく非常に贵重な人材だなと思います。
Another thing that surprised me was that there was a Beninese Japanese interpreter in the office. In the past, Zomahon, a talent who used to work as Beat Takeshi's assistant, established the first "Takeshi Japanese Language School" in Benin (which is still operating today). He is a graduate of that school. In Africa, there are countries in West Africa and Central Africa that have French as their official language. Local staff like him who can speak both French and Japanese are extremely valuable human resources, not just for this site but in general.
现场事务所の中での会话は英语が中心ですが、やはりいろんな国の言语が事务所の中で飞び交っており、毎日おもしろいです。たまに时间があるときには、週末に国别対抗カラオケ大会を宿舎で行い、全くわからない字幕、闻いたことないリズムや见たことない映像を楽しみながら、日常的にも异文化交流をし、刺激的な日々を过ごしています。
While English is the main language for conversations in the field office, various languages from different countries are constantly being spoken throughout the office, which makes every day interesting. When we have some free time, we occasionally hold international karaoke competitions by country at the dormitory on weekends, enjoying completely incomprehensible subtitles, unfamiliar rhythms, and videos we've never seen before, engaging in cross-cultural exchange in our daily lives and spending stimulating days.
At the groundbreaking ceremony held on October 28, 2025
これから工事が本格的に始まるので、この7か国からなる多国籍チームが一体となって安全でいいものができるように一绪に顽张ります！
Construction is about to begin in earnest, so this multinational team from seven countries will work together as one to create something safe and excellent!