China Eximbank provides $39.9 million loan for Phase I of Procurement of Earth-Moving Equipment for Road Rehabilitation Project (Linked to Record ID#57428)

Project narrative

On October 25, 2007, China Eximbank and the Government of Zambia signed a $39,899,000 million USD loan agreement for Phase I of the Procurement of Earth-Moving Equipment for Road Rehabilitation Project. The proceeds from this loan were used to acquire earth-moving equipment for the purposes of rehabilitating roads and bridges that were destroyed by heavy rains and flooding. This loan was disbursed in 2007 ($11.74 million USD), 2008 ($23.51 million USD), and 2009 ($3.92 million USD). AVIC International Holding Corporation was the contractor responsible for project implementation. Phase I was completed at an unknown time. In May 2014, Zambia's Ministry of Defense and AVIC International signed a procurement and training agreement for more than 300 various pieces of heavy-duty earth-moving equipment, agricultural machinery, and transport vehicles worth $62.3 million USD. Then, in 2015, AVIC International signed a $50 million USD supplier's credit with the Government of Zambia for Phase II of Procurement of Earth-Moving Equipment for Road Rehabilitation Project (#57428). The loan terms are unknown. The proceeds from this supplier's credit were used by Zambia's Ministry of Defense to fund its $62.3 million USD procurement and training agreement with AVIC International. The machinery that was acquired during Phase II (#57428) was to be used by the Zambia National Service (ZNS) unit within the Ministry of Defense (after President Lungu moved the Rural Roads Unit to the Ministry of Transport, which was previously under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense). The equipment was reportedly distributed across all Zambian provinces for the construction of feeder roads and bridges as part of Link Zambia 8000 and Pave Zambia 2000 projects intended to connect rural areas with the rest of the country. AVIC International Holding Corporation also provided an after-sale service and training program that involved teaching repairing, maintenance, and operating essentials. 20 Zambian mechanics were trained in China with the earth-moving equipment for one month and roughly 300 other operators received professional training in Zambia. Phase II was completed on September 8, 2015.