China Eximbank provides RMB 580 million government concessional loan for Bagatelle Dam Project

In March 2012, China Eximbank and the Government of Mauritius signed an RMB 580 million government concessional loan (GCL) for the Bagatelle Dam Project. The GCL carried the following terms: 15 year maturity, 5 year grace period, 2% interest rate, and 0.5% commitment fee. This loan is repayable over 10 years via semi-annual installments between March 2017 and March 2027. The project consisted of a 2.5 km long earthfill dam with a 300 meters rockfill portion in the central part. It has a storage capacity of 14 M with an annual yield of 25 Mm3. The purpose of the dam was to supply water to Port Louis district, the lower parts of Plaine Wilhems district (Quatre Bornes, Rose Hill, Stanley, Beau Bassin, Coromandel), Bambous region, and Petite Rivière region until 2050. It also sought to expand the water available for irrigation demands and a number of new infrastructure initiatives. The Bagatelle Dam is located on the Terre Rouge River, approximately 20 km southeast of the city of Port Louis. Its geographical coordinates are 20.2454° S, 57.5174° E. China International Water and Electricity Corporation (CWE) was the contractor responsible for implementation. It signed a construction contract with the Government of Mauritius on September 21, 2011. Then, on December 1, 2011, the project officially commenced. However, construction did not begin in March 29, 2012. The dam was completed and officially handed over to the local authorities on June 30, 2017. Also, as of October 2017, the China Eximbank GCL had fully disbursed.

Additional details

1. The Chinese project title is 和巴加泰勒水坝 or 巴加泰勒水坝项目. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that it released in July 2020, SAIS-CARI identifies this loan as a preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) with a maturity of 20 years, a grace period of 10 years, and an interest rate of 2% rather than a government concessional loan (GCL) with a maturity of 15 years, a grace period of 5 years, and an interest rate of 2%. AidData relies on the borrowing terms that are reported by the Government of Mauritius (loan signature date: March 2012; loan repayments from March 2017 to March 2027). 3. The Government of Mauritius also identifies the loan as a GCL and not a PBC.

Number of official sources

28

Number of total sources

43