China Eximbank provides RMB 245 million government concessional loan for Phase 1 of National Fiber-Optic Network Backbone Project (Linked to Project ID#19149)

On January 28, 2008, China Eximbank and the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo signed an RMB 245 million government concessional loan (GCL) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK GCL n° 3 (2008) TOTAL n° (222)] for Phase 1 of the National Fiber-Optic Network Backbone Project. The GCL carried the following terms: 2% interest rate, 5 year grace period, and a 10 year maturity. According to Government of the DRC's Aid Management Platform (AMP), the USD commitment value of the loan was $42,538,472.95 and final disbursements through the loan amounted to $43,760,884.71. The purpose of the first phase of this project was to lay 650 km of fiber optic cable from Kinshasa to Muanda. China International Telecommunication Construction Corporation (CITCC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began in 2009 and ended in 2010. However, this project was plagued by controversy. The country’s legislature organized a commission of inquiry to determine why many project inputs were overpriced and the project underperformed vis-a-vis its coverage objectives. The second phase of this project is captured in Project ID#19149.

Additional details

1. The French project title is Réalisation du Réseau national Backbone à fibre optique (phase I), Réseau national de câble à fibre optique (1ère phase), and Réseau National Backbone à Fibre Optique (Phase I). The Chinese project title is 刚果（金）光缆骨干网一期.). 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it does not record the borrowing terms of this loan. AidData records the borrowing terms that are reported in the 2013 Public Debt Audit published by the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (2% interest rate, 5 year grace period, 10 year maturity).

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

22