Here is Texaco-Chevron completely destroying the water supply in lago agrio in Ecuador and refusing to pay even after multiple judgements against them in a court they agreed to. [1]
Given this story you would think Bloomberg would be equally 'concerned'. But they are defending Chevron in that case which means they do not really care about the issues discussed. [2]
And this is not new. This has been happening for decades and there is a long culture of exploitation and decimation by any country that can get away with it perpetuated under cover of this kind of fake concern and selective outrage. Needless to say these problems won't be solved without a more sincere and serious global effort.
[1] https://therealnews.com/stories/chevron-arbitration-ruling-a...
[2] https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-07-12/chevron-n...
Worth remembering that you'll find similar complaints about construction projects within Chinese borders -- this isn't necessarily reflective of China being cruel to the developing world. Instead, it is a consequence of a country where things are done differently going abroad.
This article does use a standard unit of size, the American football field, but introduced me to a new unit for weight, the Toyota Camry.
In all seriousness, I don't mind weird units when they are a small multiple of what is being discussed. Like 2 Olympic swimming pools of beer or the weight of a fully loaded 747. But the point is that people don't readily understand large numbers. Saying the sand "weighs as much as 70 million Toyota Camrys" is no better for people than saying it weighs 250 billion pounds. How about 20 Great Pyramids? Someone who has seen the Pyramids will have some idea of the magnitude then.
This Chinese belt&road thing is a bit weird, as a project: it's unpopular at home, it's controversial in the target countries, it's had no real benefit so far, and also it's tremendously expensive while the Chinese economy is slowing down. It's like the Chinese gov thinks building new roads will expand the economy, but these things take time to get a ROI -- if they succeed at all.
It really feels like a soviet 5 year plan. Bureaucratic delusion.
When I went to visit a friend in Zambia you could see all the infrastructure being built by the Chinese, however much to my friends disappointment they have completely bypassed the local economy.
He says they setup work camps and have facilities so they can be isolated from the locals. A Chinese worker won't spend a single Yuan in Zambia.
He joked that it's colonisation 2.0