China Eximbank provides RMB 1.118 billion government concessional loan for 171.9 km Mbala-Nakonde (D1) Highway Upgrading Project

On April 11, 2013, China Eximbank and the Government of Zambia signed an RMB 1,118,000,000 ($196 million) government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the 171.9 km Mbala-Nakonde (D1) Highway Upgrading Project. The borrowing terms of this loan are unknown. The proceeds were used to finance a commercial contract between Zambia’s Ministry of Works and Supply and China CAMC Engineering Co. Limited, which was signed on April 15, 2011. As of December 31, 2017, China Eximbank had disbursed $179.22 million in support of this project. This project involved the upgrading of a 171.9 km two-way dual lane (D1) road between Mbala and Nakonde to bituminous standard standard class 1C over a 36-month work period. Construction began in late 2012 and the originally expected project completion date was April 14, 2014. However, the expected project completion date was later extended to June 19, 2016. The project was ultimately completed and handed over to the local authorities on June 20, 2017.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Upgrading of the Mbala – Nakonde (D1) Road (171.9 km) Project. The Chinese project title is 穆巴拉-纳孔德公路升级改造项目 or 穆巴拉—纳孔德公路. 2. Most sources indicate that the commercial contract and China Eximbank loan were worth $180 million USD. However, the 2013 Annual Economic Report (source ID#48626 p. 59) identifies the face value of the loan as $196 million. This issue warrants further investigation. 3. For the time being, AidData assumes that this loan carried the standard borrowing terms that apply to China Eximbank GCLs (20 year maturity, 5 year grace period, 2% interest rate).

Number of official sources

16

Number of total sources

21