China Eximbank provides RMB 430 million government concessional loan for MA60 Aircraft Acquisition Project (Linked to Project ID#58109)

On November 11, 2013, China Eximbank and Cameroon's Ministry of Economy, Planning, and Regional Development (MINEPAT) signed a framework agreement for a government concessional loan (GCL) worth RMB 430 million for the MA60 Aircraft Acquisition Project. The GCL was signed on the same day by both parties, but the precise commitment date is unknown. The framework agreement specified the borrowing terms of the loan: 20 year maturity, 5 year grace period, and 2% interest rate. The purpose of the project was to facilitate the acquisition of three MA60 Chinese aircraft that would be added to the fleet of the state-owned Cameroon Airlines Corporation.This project was part of a 'buy two get one free' deal. China Development Bank provided a RMB 215 million grant to the Government of Cameroon for the acquisition of one MA60 aircraft (as captured via Project ID#58109), and the Government of Cameroon agreed to borrow RMB 430 million from China Eximbank for the acquisition of two additional MA-60 aircraft. AVIC was the contractor responsible for implementation. The two aircraft purchased with the proceeds of the China Eximbank loan were delivered on April 1, 2015. A few months before their delivery, a controversy arose in Cameroon around the quality and reliability of the planes. The Chinese Ambassador to Cameroon at the time, Wo Ruidi, defended the deal and said that the “MA-60s are reliable”. Then, on March 10, 2019, the tail of one of the MA60s struck the ground during a landing at Bafoussam-Bamougoum airport. The Civil Aviation Authority of Cameroon suspended continued use of the aircraft until proof its airworthiness could be provided. It also recommended that La Cameroon Airlines Corporation (Camair-Co) contact the manufacturer (AVIC).

Additional details

1. The French project title is Projet d'achat de deux (02) aéronefs MA60.2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it records the maturity length of this China Eximbank loan as 21 years. AidData records the maturity length as 20 years since the loan framework agreement supporting the project specifies a maturity length of 20 years.3. The framework agreement can be accessed in its entirety via SourceID#68264 or https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/20485907-cmr_2013_182.4. The project ID number for this transaction in Cameroon's Development Assistance Database (DAD) is CAM/00088.

Number of official sources

12

Number of unofficial sources

8