Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In July 2005, China, Myanmar, Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia signed an MOU on the Planning and Construction of a Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Information Superhighway Network. Then, on January 22, 2007, China Eximbank and the Government of Cambodia signed an RMB 135 million government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Cambodia Section of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Information Superhighway (GMS-IS) Project. The GCL carried the following terms: 20-year maturity, 7-year grace period, 2% interest rate. The proceeds of the China Eximbank loan were used to finance a commercial contract with Huawei Technologies, which was signed on August 28, 2006. This $17 million project was co-financed with the Asian Development Bank. The purpose of the Greater Mekong Sub-region Information Superhighway (GMS-IS) Project was to construct a 651 km fiber optic transmission line in the Greater Mekong Sub-region. The Cambodia section of the project involved the laying of fiber optic cable from Kampong Cham to Memot and then to the Laos border along National Road 7 (NR 7), and the laying of fiber optic cable from Skun city in Kampong Cham province to Siem Reap along National Road 6 (NR 6). The project was expected to start on January 1, 2006, and reach completion on December 31, 2007. Construction actually began in August 2007. A completion ceremony was held on July 15, 2009.
Staff comments
1. The Chinese project title is 大湄公河次区域信息高速公路缅甸项目. 2. The China Eximbank loan that supported this project is not included in the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 3. On January 22, 2007, China Eximbank committed to providing a $207 million loan package for the “two bridges and two roads” project (involving Prek Tamaek Bridge, Prek Kdam Bridge, National Road No. 6, and National Road No. 8; see linked umbrella Record ID#32113). This project is a partial fulfillment of that commitment.