Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On December 3, 1998, the Chinese Government and the Government of Morocco signed an RMB 150 million preferential loan framework agreement for the Comprehensive Medical Clinic Construction Project. Then, on November 30, 2001, the Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) and the Government of Morocco signed an RMB 150 million government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Comprehensive Medical Clinic Construction Project. The estimated borrowing terms of the loan were as follows: a 16.666-year maturity, a 2.1666-year grace period, and a 3% interest rate. The loan proceeds were to be used by the borrower to fully finance the cost of an RMB 125,227,814.45 commercial contract, which Morocco’s Ministry of Health signed with China National Complete Plant Import & Export Corp., Ltd. (COMPLANT) on May 17, 2004. Total disbursements under the loan agreement amounted to RMB 125,227,814.45. The purpose of this project was to construct 6 comprehensive medical clinics: one in the town of Berrechid within Berrechid province, one in the city of Benslimane (Ben Slimane) within Benslimane province, one in the town of Guercif within Guercif province, one in the town of Fnideq within the M'diq-Fnideq Prefecture, one in the town of Khemis Des Zemamra within El Jadida Province, and one in the city of Oulad Teima (Houara) in Taroudannt Province. Each clinic was to include 45 beds, 3 housing units for doctors, and a set of internal medicine, surgery, pediatric, obstetric, emergency and observation rooms. Between March 2002 and April 2002, COMPLANT dispatched a team to conduct an on-site inspection of the project. It also signed a project work summary with the Ministry of Health of Morocco, which clarified the division of labor and work plans between the two parties. After three rounds of extensive and difficult negotiations in July 2002, July 2003, and April 2004, COMPLANT and Morocco’s Ministry of Health finally reached an agreement on the contract price and they signed a project construction contract on May 17, 2004. Construction began on April 27, 2006 and ended on October 23, 2008. The project also passed final inspection on October 23, 2008.
Staff comments
1. The French project title is La construction et d'équipement de polycliniques dans différentes régions or La construction et à l'équipement de centres de santé dans les villes de Berrechid, Ben Slimane, Guercif, Fnideq, El Khemis des Zemamra et Ouled Teïma. The Chinese project title is 摩洛哥六个医疗诊所项目 or 摩洛哥6个医疗诊所项目 or 的综合医疗诊所项目. 2. The SAIS-CARI database records this project as having reached the official commitment (loan signature) stage but not the implementation stage or completion stage. AidData records this project as having reached the completion stage because construction ended and the project passed final inspection on October 23, 2008. One source suggests that a seventh medical clinic — one in the town of Oulad Sidi Ali Ben Youssef within El Jadida Province — may have been constructed with support from this China Eximbank loan. However, AidData was not able to corroborate this claim. 3. One official source (https://gazettes.africa/archive/ma/2005/ma-bulletin-officiel-dated-2005-04-07-no-5306.pdf) identifies the loan commitment date as December 2, 2004. 4. The estimated borrowing terms of the loan are drawn from the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS). See https://www.dropbox.com/s/2sw4f7gluxa52fk/DRS%20Official%20Commitments%20from%20China%20Through%202021.xlsx?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/ab8qt4n6jijcbhd/IDS_Average%20interest%20on%20new%20external%20debt%20commitments.xlsx?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/949n5rctiue6d7c/IDS_Average_grace_period_and_maturity_on_new_external_debt_commitments.xlsx?dl=0