Chinese Government provides RMB 88.26 million interest-free loan for Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Office Complex Construction Project

In March 2011, the Chinese Government provided an RMB 88,260,000 interest-free loan for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Office Complex Construction Project. The project involved the construction of an office complex in Accra with two, six-story buildings, 141 offices, a 300-person capacity conference room, mini-conference room, a library, a canteen, security rooms, a diesel generator room, an outdoor fire pool and switch room, drainage systems, a fire alarm system, a public address system, a door access system, a satellite TV system, video and audio systems for conference rooms, and a DY660C(600KV) diesel generator. China Friendship Development International Engineering Design & Consultation Limited Liability Company (FDDC) was responsible for project design, and Yanjian Group was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began on August 30, 2011 and a formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 2, 2011. Construction ended in February 2013 and the project was officially completed and handed over to the Ghanaian authorities on March 18, 2013. This project was funded and implemented after Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration’s previous office building was destroyed by a fire in 2009.

Additional details

The Chinese project title is 外交部办公大楼项目 or 援加纳外交部办公楼项目 or 加纳外交部办公楼. According to the 2012 Budget of the Government of Ghana, this project was financed through a grant, not an interest-free loan from the Chinese Government; however, the majority of official and unofficial sources contradict the 2012 Budget of the Government of Ghana. The loan that apparently supported this project is not recorded in the SAIS-CARI database of Chinese loan commitments that was released in July 2020. Since loan terms for the interest-free loan are unavailable, AidData has set maturity period to 20 years by default and grace period to 10 years by default per China's Foreign Assistance White Paper (http://www.cidca.gov.cn/2018-08/06/c_129925064_3.htm) which states that the maturity period of interest-free loans is 20 years, with a drawdown period of 5 years, grace period of 5 years, and repayment over 10 years. AidData treats the drawdown period as providing 5 years of additional grace.

Number of official sources

8

Number of unofficial sources

9