China Eximbank provides RMB 510.7 million government concessional loan for National Road No. 78 (NR 78) Construction and Rehabilitation Project

Project narrative

On May 19, 2009, China Eximbank and the Government of Cambodia signed an RMB 510,770,000 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the National Road No. 78 (NR 78) Construction and Rehabilitation Project. Then, on June 18, 2009, the Government of Cambodia approved the loan. The borrowing terms of the GCL are as follows: a 20-year maturity, a 7-year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. The proceeds from the GCL were used to finance 95% of the cost and EPC contract worth $73.3 million with Shanghai Construction Group (SCG). The remaining 5% of the EPC contract cost was funded by the Government of Cambodia. The purpose of this project was to construct and rehabilitate a 120.984 km segment of National Road No. 78 (NR 78) that runs from O Pong Moan in Strung Treng Province to Ban Lung Provincial Town in Ratanakiri Province. NR 78 is an important transportation route connecting central and northeastern Cambodia. The construction of this road was meant to improve the economic and social development of northeastern Cambodia. SCG was the EPC contractor responsible for project implementation. The project was supervised by Guangzhou Wanan Construction Supervision Company. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on November 12, 2009. The project was officially completed and the road was opened to traffic on December 6, 2012.