Project ID: 14829

China Eximbank provides $84 million loan for Phase 1 (Obouya-Boundji-Okoyo Section) of Obouya-Gabon Border Road (RN3) Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#68956 and #60219)

Commitment amount

$ 151138208.16226438

Adjusted commitment amount

$ 151138208.16

Constant 2021 USD

Summary

Funding agency [Type]

Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) [State-owned Policy Bank]

Recipient

Congo (Brazzaville)

Sector

Transport and storage (Code: 210)

Flow type

Loan

Level of public liability

Central government debt

Infrastructure

Yes

Category

Intent

Development (The next section lists the possible statuses.)

Commercial

Development

Representational

Mixed

Financial Flow Classification

ODA-like (The next section lists the possible statuses.)

Official Development Assistance

Other Official Flows

Vague (Official Finance)

Flows categorized based on OECD-DAC guidelines

Project lifecycle

Status

Completion (The next section lists the possible statuses.)

Pledge

Commitment

Implementation

Completion

Suspended

Cancelled

Milestones

Commitment

2007-01-01

Actual start

2008-06-15

Planned complete

2010-12-01

Actual complete

2013-10-23

NOTE: Red circles denote delays between planned and actual dates

Geography

Description

On June 19, 2006, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $1.6 billion loan framework agreement — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership” (“partenariat stratégique”) — that allowed the Republic of Congo to obtain China Eximbank loans for infrastructure projects through a securitization mechanism: Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)—the country’s state-owned oil company — agreed to deposit a portion of the cash proceeds from its oil exports into an escrow account that is controlled by China Eximbank. This framework agreement (captured in Project ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006. One of the subsidiary loans that was approved through the framework agreement included an $84 million loan in 2007 for Phase 1 (Obouya-Boundji-Okoyo Section) of the Obouya-Gabon Border Road (RN3) Construction Project. This loan carried the following borrowing terms: 0.25% interest rate, 20-year maturity, and a 5-year grace period. Its (principal) amount outstanding was unknown as of December 31, 2019. The Obouya-Gabon Border Road (RN3) Construction Project supported the development of a 207 km road corridor. The road connects National Route 2 (RN2) with the Gabon border, and its construction included small bridges, drainage infrastructure, schools, and medical centers for major villages along the road, and a gas station at 100km intervals. This project was implemented in two phases and supported by two different China Eximbank loans. Phase 1 (captured via Project ID#14829) supported the construction of 116.575 km segment of the border road from Obouya to Okoyo via Boundji. A formal project commencement ceremony took place on February 25, 2008. However, a project start order was not issued until June 15, 2008. The project achieved temporary acceptance on November 2, 2011. On the very next day (November 3, 2011), a project completion (inauguration) ceremony took place. However, the contractor responsible for implementation later reported that Phase 1 was not completed until October 23, 2013. Phase 2 (captured via Project ID#68956) involved the construction of a 90 km segment of the border road from Okoyo to the country’s border with Gabon via Lékéty. A foundation laying ceremony for Phase 2 took place on November 3, 2011 and this road segment opened to traffic on December 14, 2015. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) was the contractor responsible for the implementation of both phases.

Additional details

1. Phase 1 is also known as the Obouya-Boundji-Okoyo (OBO) Road Project or the Obouya-Boundji-Okoyo (OBO) Section of the National Route 3 (RN3) Construction Project. The Chinese project title for Phase 1 is 刚奥布亚加蓬边境公路一期工程 or 欧布亚-布昂吉-欧克依欧公路项目 or 中机总公司3号路 or 奥约-布恩吉-奥科约(3号)公路. The Obouya-Gabon Border Road Project is also known as Obouya-Okoyo-Lékéty-Gabon Border Road Project. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a $106 million China Eximbank loan for Phase 1 (Obouya-Boundji-Okoyo Section) of the Obouya-Gabon Border Road Construction Project. For the time being, AidData records the face value of the loan ($84 million) that the Congolese authorities disclosed to the World Bank and the World Bank reported in its September 2014 Republic of Congo Economic Update publication. However, there is evidence that the value of the commercial contract for Phase 1 increased by nearly 25% (to $125 million) due to implementation difficulties. Further investigation is needed to determine if the face value of China Eximbank loan that supported Phase 1 was amended to help finance the increase in the value of the commercial contract with CMEC.

Number of official sources

12

Number of total sources

17

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Details

Cofinanced

No

Direct receiving agencies [Type]

Government of Republic of Congo [Government Agency]

Implementing agencies [Type]

China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) [State-owned Company]

Collateral

This loan was collateralized against cash proceeds from SNPC oil sales to Chinese firms, which were deposited in a China Eximbank-controlled escrow account. The Republic of Congo was required to maintain a minimum cash balance in the escrow account equivalent to approximately 20% of its total outstanding debt to China Eximbank. The cash balance in the China Eximbank-controlled escrow account was $338 million in 2017 and $266,659,781 in 2020.

Loan Details

Maturity

20 years

Interest rate

0.25%

Grace period

5 years

Grant element (OECD Grant-Equiv)

61.5613%

Bilateral loan

Investment project loan