China Eximbank provides RMB 160 million government concessional loan for Minibuses for Senbus and Bus Assembly Production Project

Project narrative

In 2009, China Eximbank and the Government of Senegal signed a government concessional loan (GCL) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK GCL No. 1 (2009) Total No. (252)] worth RMB 160 million ($34 million) for the Minibuses for Senbus and Bus Assembly Production Project. The loan carried the following estimated borrowing terms: a 19 year maturity (final maturity date: 2028), a 5.8 year grace period, and a 1.9% interest rate. The loan fully disbursed, according to the Government of Senegal's aid management platform [Plateforme de Gestion des Financements Extérieurs du Sénégal (PGFE)]. With the proceeds from the loan, Xiamen King Long United Automotive Industry (or “Kinglong”) and Senbus Industries created a factory in Thiès for the assembly of 406 Kinglong and Sunlong buses, including 4 buses and 402 minibuses. The factory was inaugurated and November 4, 2009 and an initial batch of 150 Kinglong city buses (produced by the Senegalese factory) was successfully delivered on October 5, 2010. Then, a batch on Sunlong buses arrived in April 2012. Kinglong also provided technical assistance by sending 24 technicians to Senegal. In June 2022, a Senegalese government audit revealed that 235 Sunlong buses were immobilized in 2016 by the Director General of CETUD after the buses were acquired on the grounds that they consumed too much fuel (i.e., 55 liters per 100km as opposed to 38 liters per 100km for Ashok Leyland buses). As of June 2022, only 6 Sunlong buses were operational and the 228 buses were parked in the Ouakam and Thiaroye depots. The audit questioned the wisdom of the Director General’s decision to withdraw Sunlong buses from circulation 4 years after their acquisition. It also criticized the Director General for not renting the buses and generating ‘financial waste.’