China Eximbank provides $37.5 million preferential buyer’s credit for Phase 2 of ICT-Enabled Distance Learning Project at University of Ghana (Linked to Project ID#1882)

On April 30, 2012, China Eximbank and the Government of Ghana signed a $37,590,000 preferential buyer's credit (PBC) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK PBC NO. (2012) 14 TOTAL NO. (202)] for Phase 2 of the ICT-Enabled Distance Learning Project at the University of Ghana. The agreement was approved by Ghana’s Cabinet on September 25, 2012 and approved by Ghana’s Parliament on September 25, 2012. This PBC carried the following borrowing terms: a 2 percent interest rate, a 19 year maturity, a 5 year grace period, and a 0.75% commitment fee. The final maturity date is September 21, 2028. According to the Government of Ghana’s Development Cooperation Management Information System (Gh-DCMIS), the loan (PBC) had achieved an 85% disbursement rate ($31,951,500 out of $37,590,000) as of May 2022. The Gh-DCMIS identified four loan disbursements as of May 2022: a $1,879,500.00 loan disbursement on December 31, 2012, a $15,036,000.00 loan disbursement on May 13, 2013, a $11,277,000.00 loan disbursement on December 31, 2014, and a $3,759,000.00 loan disbursement on January 31, 2018. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was GHS 146,650,000 ($26,187,500) as of December 31, 2020 and GHS 140,600,000 ($27,038,461) as of December 31, 2021. Phase 2 of the project involved the establishment of network infrastructure in 12 regional centers (including Accra City Campus, Koforidua, Sunyani, Takoradi, Tamale, Tsito, and Wa) across the country and the development of customized teaching software. It also involved the construction a 50-seat computer laboratory and a video conference center connected to Data Centre at the University of Ghana’s Legon Campus over the Vodafone National Fiber Backbone. On June 7, 2013, the Steering Committee for the project was inaugurated at the University of Ghana. Tsinghua Unigroup was the contractor responsible for the supply, installation, and commissioning of the ICT equipment and services that were procured through this project. The project was inaugurated at the University of Ghana on June 7, 2013. Then, on January 30, 2015, the project was officially completed and handed over to the authorities. A project completion ceremony was held on May 30, 2015. However, the Gh-DCMIS identifies the official project completion date as January 31, 2018. The originally expected project implementation start and end dates were December 31, 2012 and December 31, 2015, respectively. There are some indications that the China Eximbank loan for Phase 2 of ICT-Enabled Distance Learning Project at University of Ghana may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender. According to the World Bank’s International Development Statistics, the Government of Ghana had accumulated principal and interest arrears to one or more official sector Chinese creditors worth $908,337,346.70) in 2020 ($763,228,526.60 in principal arrears and $145,108,820.10 in interest arrears). There are some indications that the China Eximbank loan for Phase 1 of the Kpong Water Expansion Supply Project may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender. According to the World Bank’s International Development Statistics, the Government of Ghana had accumulated principal and interest arrears to one or more official sector Chinese creditors worth $908,337,346.70) in 2020 ($763,228,526.60 in principal arrears and $145,108,820.10 in interest arrears). Then, on December 19, 2022, the Government of Ghana announced a sovereign default, suspending debt service on its Eurobonds, its commercial loans, and most of its bilateral loans.

Additional details

1. The Chinese project title is 建的加纳大学远程教育二期项目 or 紫光软件加纳远程教育项目. 2. China Eximbank also funded Phase 1 of the project (as captured via Project ID#1882). 3. The (principal) amounts outstanding are drawn from the Ghanaian Ministry of Finance’s Annual Public Debt Reports. These amounts are reported in GHS by the Ministry of Finance. AidData has estimated the USD amounts by applying the average GHS-to-USD exchange rate in 2020 (5.6-to-1) and the average GHS-to-USD exchange rate in 2021 (5.2-to-1).

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

18