China Eximbank provides $63.2 million preferential buyer's credit for Luang Prabang International Airport Reconstruction Project

In 2008, China Eximbank and the Government of Laos signed a $63,213,231 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement for the Luang Prabang International Airport Reconstruction Project. The proceeds of the PBC were to be used by the borrower to partially finance a $86.42 million commercial (EPC) contract between the Ministry of Public Works and Transport of Laos and China CAMC Engineering Co Ltd. (CAMCE), which was signed on December 1, 2008. The borrowing terms of the PBC were as follows: a 20-year maturity, a 3% interest rate, a 0.5% commitment fee, and a 0.5% management fee. The project involved the construction of a 2900-meter runway, apron, terminal, approach road, car park, airport boundary, and a road and drainage system at the Luang Prabang International Airport, which is located 4 km from the center of the city of Luang Prabang. It also involved airport equipment procurement, installation and commissioning, the construction of two taxiways to access the aircraft hangar of the airport, and the rehabilitation of a hanger to be able to hold four Boeing 737s or ATR 320s. CAMCE was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. A project commencement ceremony took place on May 29, 2010 and the originally expected length of the project implementation period was 52 months (per the terms of the EPC contract). However, the project was completed ahead of schedule. A project completion ceremony was held on June 1, 2013 and a final acceptance certificate (FAC) was issued on June 2, 2014. Luang Prabang Airport is now the 2nd largest airport in the country. The annual passenger flow of the airport has increased from 200,000 to 300,000 to 800,000-1 million passengers.

Additional details

1. The Chinese project title is 挝琅勃拉邦国际机场项目. 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. Some sources suggest that the EPC contract was signed on October 22, 2007 rather than December 1, 2008.

Number of official sources

20

Number of total sources

25