China Eximbank provides $62.9 million loan for Phase 1 of Oyo Inland Wharf Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#60219, ID#72815)

On March 29, 2013, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $600 million loan framework agreement (captured in Project ID#30235) — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership 3” (“partenariat stratégique 3”) — that allowed the Republic of Congo to obtain China Eximbank loans for infrastructure projects through a securitization mechanism: Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)—the country’s state-owned oil company — agreed to deposit a portion of the cash proceeds from its oil exports into an escrow account that is controlled by China Eximbank. Two of the subsidiary loans that were approved through the framework agreement supported the Oyo Inland Wharf Construction Project. They included a $62,901,334 loan in 2013 for Phase 1 of the Oyo Inland Wharf Project (captured via Project ID#30502), and a $22,464,556.92 loan for Phase 2 of the Oyo Inland Wharf Project (captured via Project ID#72815). The loan for Phase 1, which was finalized on March 29, 2013, carried a 13-year maturity. Its interest rate and grace period are unknown. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $41,936,000 as of December 31, 2019. The loan for Phase 2 carried a 27-year maturity. Its interest rate and grace period are also unknown. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $14,974,873 as of December 31, 2019. The Oyo Inland Wharf Project, which was implemented in two phases, involved the construction of a passenger terminal (measuring 194 meters in length), freight terminal (measuring 200 meters in length), a protective dike (measuring 100 meters in length), a passenger station, a parking lot, storage space, and an access road. The wharf was equipped with 2 cranes for loading and unloading boats, 12 bollards for mooring boats, and 1 machine for handling 40-foot containers. The project also involved the installation of a drinking water terminal and dockside terminals for boats to access electricity connections. The project site occupied an area of about 90900 m2, and the wharf measured 494 meters in length. Upon completion, it was envisaged that the Oyo Inland Wharf (also known as the Oyo River Port) would facilitate the movement of people and goods from the town of Oyo and the capital city of Brazzaville as well as the cities of Kinshasa and Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of Congo. China Bridge and Road Corporation (CRBC) — a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company Limited (CCCC) — was the contractor responsible for the implementation of both phases. Construction formally began on August 21, 2013, and the wharf was officially opened on August 10, 2017. The project employed 625 Chinese and Congolese workers.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as Phase 1 of the Oyo River Port Project. The Chinese project title is 奥约港项目 or OYO内河码头项目. The French project title is Construction Port Fluvial d'OYO Phase 1. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a single $55 million China Eximbank loan for the Oyo Inland Wharf Construction Project. AidData records the two separate China Eximbank loans for Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Oyo Inland Wharf Construction Project that are recorded by the Republic of Congo’s Public Debt Agency (Caisse Congolaise d’Amortissement or CCA) and Délégation Générale des Grands Travaux (DGGT). These two loans are collectively worth $85,365,890.92. CCA and DGGT also report loan maturity lengths that are inconsistent with the 20-year maturity length reported by SAIS-CARI.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

15