Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On December 28, 2005, the Chinese Government committed an RMB 225.07 million concessional loan (with a 20-year maturity) to the Government of Cambodia for the Council of Ministers Building Project; however, it was later announced that the Chinese Government financed this project with a grant to honor 50 years of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Phnom Penh. The purpose of the project was to construct an office building (with a total area of 32,580 square meters) for the Council of Ministers that is located on Street Kampuchea Krom Blvd (128) — near Russian Federation Blvd. — in the city of Phnom Penh. In October 2007, the Chinese Government pledged RMB 50 million for "additional construction of the Council of Ministers Office" . Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Corporation was the contractor responsible for implementation. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 9, 2006. However, Yunnan Construction Engineering Group Corporation did not sign a construction contract until November 30, 2006. Construction commenced on January 28, 2007. The project was completed on November 28, 2008. The building was put into use in February 2009 and officially inaugurated until October 19, 2010.
Staff comments
The Chinese project title is 援柬政府办公大楼项目 or 援建的柬埔寨政府办公大楼项目. The Government of Cambodia’s aid and debt information management system, which is maintained on behalf of all ministries and agencies of the Royal Government of Cambodia by the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board (CRDB) of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC), identifies the flow supporting this project as a concessional loan; however, this appears to be a typographical error, as while the construction of the building was initially reported to be funded via concessional loans, it was later reported that the Chinese Government donated the office building as a gift to honor 50 years of diplomatic relations between Beijing and Phnom Penh (Feb. 25, 2011 MOFCOM article; Xinhua News Agency, 12 August 2008). The 'Keynote Address at the Official Inauguration of the Office of the Council of Ministers' by Prime Minister Hun Sen further suggests that the office building was donated to the Cambodia Government as Hun Sen conveyed his deep gratitude "to the people and government of the People’s Republic of China for the valuable grant to build [the] buildings that will be used to improve efficiency and delivery of public services for Cambodian people. AidData only tracks the the first instance of Chinese official financing, so the originally-committed amount has been recorded in the transaction field.