China Eximbank provides RMB 480 million loan for Lot 2 of Phase 1 of Plaines Wilhems Sewage Project (Linked to Project ID#1099, #20162, #72934)

On February 25, 2009, China Eximbank and the Government of Mauritius signed an RMB 480 million loan agreement for Lot 2 of Phase 1 of Plaines Wilhems Sewage Project. This loan carried the following term: a 15 year maturity, a 5 year grace period, a 3% interest rate, and a 0.75% commitment fee. It is repayable over 10 years via semi-annual installments between March 2014 and March 2024. As of December 31, 2013, the loan had achieved a 91% disbursement rate (RMB 439,484,256 out of RMB 480,000,000). The Plaines Wilhelms Sewage Project Construction Project had 4 major components: (1) reconstruction of the St. Martin Wastewater Treatment Plant and increasing its capacity from 48,000 m3 /day to 69,000 m3 /day to serve a population of 233,0001; (2) construction of a new 27 km trunk sewer to increase trunk sewer capacity from the Plaines Wilhems district to St Martin Sewerage Treatment Plant; (3) construction of 262 km of reticulation network in the Plaines Wilhems catchment areas to increase sewerage flows to St Martin Sewerage Treatment Plant; and (4) construction of nearly 32,500 house connections in the municipalities of Quatre Bornes, Beau Basin/Rose Hill, Curepipe and Vacoas/Phoenix and effluent out-fall to the La Ferme Irrigation System. Project components 3 and 4 — the construction of the reticulation network and house connections — was divided into 4 lots: Lot 1A, Lot 1B, Lot 2 and a Lot for Additional House Connections. China Eximbank funded Lot 2 (Zone 7 — Central Quatre Bornes, Zone 8 — NE Quatre Bornes, ad Zone 8A — Sodnac) of Phase 2, which involved the construction of a 91 km sewer reticulation system in Central Quatre Bornes and Sodnac, the construction of 12,956 house connections, and the replacement of about 50 km of water supply pipes. Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (BCEG) was the contractor responsible for implementation of Lot 2 of Phase 1 of Plaines Wilhems Sewage Project. It signed a construction contract with the Government of Mauritius’ Wastewater Management Authority (WMA) on February 7, 2008. Construction began on March 14, 2012 and the project was successfully completed successfully on September 20, 2014. The project reportedly resulted in some 10,000 houses being connected to a newly constructed 100 km sewer network in the regions of Central Quatre Bornes, Sodnac and Belle Rose. Around 50 km of Central Water Authority (CWA) pipes were also replaced in the course of project implementation. Upon completion, the project entered a Defects Liability Period.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as Lot 2 of Phase 1 of Plaines Wilhems Sewage Project. The Chinese project title is 我援建的毛里求斯污水管网工程 and 毛里求斯冰威廉地区污水管网一期Lot2项目 or 冰威廉地区城市污水管道项目 or 建的我援毛污水管道项目 or 兵威廉地区污水1期工程LOT2项目. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments released in July 2020, SAIS-CARI identifies the following borrowing terms for this loan: a maturity of 20 years, a grace period of 10 years, and an interest rate of 3%. AidData relies on the borrowing terms that are reported by the Government of Mauritius (15 year maturity, 5 year grace period, 3% interest rate, and 0.75% commitment fee). SAIS-CARI also records the face value of the loan as $31 million. AidData records the face value (RMB 480 million or ~$70 million) that is reported by the Government of Mauritius.

Number of official sources

26

Number of total sources

39