Chinese Government provides $14 million grant for Abomey-Calavi Technical School Construction Project

Project narrative

In 2012, the Chinese Government signed a grant agreement with the Government of Benin for the Abomey-Calavi Technical School Construction Project. In total, China’s Ministry of Commerce reportedly committed $14 million of grant funding for this project. The proceeds of this grant were used to finance a construction contract between Government of Benin and Anhui Foreign Economic Construction Group (AFECC), which was signed on 18 December, 2012. This project involves the construction of a technical school that can accommodate 450 students in the village of Akassato within the Abomey-Calavi Province (approximately 30 km north of Cotonou. More specifically, it involved the construction of classrooms and training workshops, teachers' apartments, student dormitories, power distribution rooms and generator rooms, water towers and canteens, outdoor sports areas, campus roads, a courtyard lighting system, and a solar water heating system for the teachers' apartments. The buildings are powered through back-up generators and solar panels. This project also involved the provision of teaching equipment, office and dormitory furniture, dining tables, and chairs. AFECC was responsible for project implementation, CITIC Architectural Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd. was responsible for project design, and Shengyang Engineering Supervision Consulting Co., Ltd. was responsible for project supervision. On 6 January, 2013, Benin President Boni Yayi attended the foundation stone laying ceremony for the school. The project officially commenced on 10 June, 2013, and the project handover ceremony too place on 1 October, 2014. An opening ceremony for the school was then held on 21 October, 2014. The school was eventually renamed to the Government Science and Technical College (GSTC), and as of August 2019, it was undergoing renovations and was scheduled to reopen in September 2019.