China Eximbank provides RMB 812 million government concessional loan for National Academies for the Performing Arts Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#59994)

Project narrative

On May 12, 2006, China Eximbank signed a government concessional loan (GCL) agreement with the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago worth RMB 812 million for the National Academies for Performing Arts Construction Project. The borrowing terms of the loan (GCL) were as follows: a 2% interest rate, a 20 year maturity, and a 5.36 year grace period. The loan was scheduled for repayment in 31 equal and semi-annual installments between September 21, 2011 and September 21, 2026. The loan had fully disbursed by the end of 2011. The borrower made its first principal repayment of approximately RMB 26,193,548.39 between on September 21, 2011. It then made repayments worth approximately RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2011 and September 30, 2012, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2012 and September 30, 2013, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2013 and September 30, 2014, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2014 and September 30, 2015, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2015 and September 30, 2016, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2016 and September 30, 2017, RMB 52,555,944.36 between September 30, 2017 and September 30, 2018, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2018 and September 30, 2019, RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2020, and RMB 52,387,096.78 between September 30, 2020 and September 30, 2021. Cumulative principal repayments amounted to RMB 26,193,548.39 as of September 30, 2011, RMB 78,580,645.17 as of September 30, 2012, RMB 130,967,741.95 as of September 30, 2013, RMB 183,354,838.73 as of September 30, 2014, RMB 235,741,935.51 as of September 30, 2015, RMB 288,129,032.29 as of September 30, 2016, RMB 340,516,129.07 as of September 30, 2017, RMB 393,072,073.43 as of September 30, 2018, RMB 445,459,170.21 as of September 30, 2019, RMB 497,846,266.99 as of September 30, 2020, RMB 550,233,363.77 as of September 30, 2021. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was RMB 666,611,400 as of September 30, 2010, RMB 785,806,451.61 as of September 30, 2011, RMB 733,419,354.83 as of September 30, 2012, RMB 681,032,258.05 as of September 30, 2013, RMB 628,645,161.27 as of September 30, 2014, RMB 576,258,064,49 as of September 30, 2015, RMB 523,870,967.71 as of September 30, 2016, RMB 471,483,870.93 as of September 30, 2017, RMB 418,927,926.57 as of September 30, 2018, RMB 366,709,677.37 as of September 30, 2019, RMB 314,322,580.59 as of September 30, 2020, RMB 261,935,483.81 as of September 30, 2021. The purpose of the project was to construct two separate Performing Arts Academies: The National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) in Port of Spain (also known as the ‘north campus’), and the Southern Academy for the Performing Arts (SAPA) in San Fernando (also known as the ‘south campus’). Shanghai Construction Group (SCG) was the general EPC contractor (or ‘prime contractor’) responsible for project implementation. However, almost 30 sub-contractors from Trinidad and Tobago contributed nearly TT$100 million worth of goods and services during the completion of the project. The project was supervised by the Urban Development Corporation of Trinidad and Tobago (UDeCOTT) -- a state-owned company of Trinidad and Tobago. Construction began in April 2007. NAPA was officially handed over to the Trinidadian Government on November 9, 2009, while SAPA was handed over on September 28, 2012. However, this project became a major source of local controversy. On August 28, 2014, NAPA was deemed unsafe by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It was subsequently closed for over two years, requiring $20 million dollars in renovations before reopening in January 2017. The issues cited were: badly secured lighting fixtures, shattered glass panes, issues with air quality, unsafe catwalks, unsafe stage areas, unsafe roofs, unsafe ceilings, loose bolts, and poor welding. Shanghai Construction Group did not cover the full cost of the renovations, citing that their maintenance contract only extended for a year after the building's construction. Michael Zhang, director of SCG Caribbean, stated that it was a misunderstanding and that sub-standard materials had been used, and that the company had done the best job it could. During the closure, Prime Minister Patrick Manning defended the structure as a ‘masterpiece.’ UDeCOTT chairman Calder Hart who supervised the initial construction of the project was accused of awarding TT$668 million worth of contracts to a Malaysian company that was linked to his wife Sherrine Hart. The building is an ongoing expense for the Trinidadian government, which in 2014 paid TT$2,000,000 to support the structure and its performance. The maintenance cost was estimated at ten percent of building cost per year, or TT$50 Million. It was part of Trinidad and Tobago's ‘Vision 2020’ initiative, which aimed to expand the cultural footprint of Trinidad and Tobago and substantially develop its urban areas. NAPA contains a 53 room hotel and restaurant wing, which the Trinidadian parliament reported was not within the original design specifications. UDeCOTT has denied all allegations that the wing was constructed without approval. The wing was reported to be underutilized until 2018, when Cara hotels finally agreed to rent the structure, with no payment of its TT$390,000 lease expected until 2021. NAPA was reportedly styled after the Chaconia, Trinidad and Tobago's national flower, and SAPA a ‘G-Clef’. NAPA has come under significant flak from the arts community, which cited a multitude of defective facilities. These included: no backstage loading door making many performances, including those of Trinidad's iconic Steel Drum, exceedingly difficult; accusations that the government outright lied about two smaller theaters on the premises, and that these are nothing but bare rooms; analogue lighting and sound equipment; concrete dance floors; no dressing rooms accessible from backstage; and no administrative offices (which required that the National Museum offices be temporarily evicted to make way for these), among numerous other complaints. The building was reportedly constructed with input from neither the arts community nor the university to which it was donated. The same loans used to finance this project were also supposed to be used to construct a National Carnival Entertainment Centre directly behind NAPA. That project, however, remained unrealized as of June 2020.