Chinese Government provides a $1 million USD interest-free loan to develop the agricultural sector in the Beqaa Valley (Linked to Project ID#40927)

On December 31, 2002, the Chinese Government and the Government of Lebanon signed two interest-free loan agreements: a $1 million loan to develop the agricultural sector in the Beqaa Valley via the construction of greenhouses (captured via Project ID#40928), and a $5 million loan for the development of fish farms near the city of Tyre (captured via Project ID#40927). The agreements were signed by Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon Liu Xianghua and President of the Lebanese Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) Jamal Itani. AidData has not identified any evidence that either of these projects ever entered implementation.

Additional details

1. The loan proceeds for project ID#40927 and project ID#40928 may have been drawn partially or fully from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) that the Chinese Government and the Government of Lebanon signed on June 13, 1996. This ETCA committed a RMB 50 million interest-free loan with a maturity period of 20 years and a grace period of 10 years (see the ETCA at "اتفاقية التعاون الاقتصادي والفني بين حكومة الجمهورية اللبنانية و حكومة جمهورية الصين الشعبية"). Lebanon’s Ministry of Finance identified the purpose of the ETCA as ‘SUPPORT ACTIVITIES TO AGRICULTURE AND POST-HARVEST CROP ACT’ (see "China Loans and grants (1).xlsx"). 2. Because China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) provides the vast majority of interest-free loans, and this project may have been funded through an ETCA (a MOFCOM financing mechanism), AidData has coded MOFCOM as the specific Chinese Government institution responsible for the provision of this loan. 3. Since the borrowing terms of the interest-free loan are unavailable, AidData has set the maturity to 20 years by default and grace period to 10 years by default, per China's Foreign Assistance White Paper (http://www.cidca.gov.cn/2018-08/06/c_129925064_3.htm) which states that the maturity of interest-free loans is 20 years, with a drawdown period of 5 years, grace period of 5 years, and repayment over 10 years. AidData treats the drawdown period as providing 5 years of additional grace. 4. The Beqaa Valley is also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ and Becaa.

Number of official sources

2

Number of total sources

7