Chinese Government provides grant worth 3.5 billion Comorian francs for Hahaya Prince Saïd Ibrahim Airport Terminal Construction Project

In June 2003, President Azali Assoumani and President Hu Jintao met in Beijing and discussed the possibility of the Chinese Government funding the Hahaya Prince Saïd Ibrahim Airport Terminal Construction Project. The Chinese Government and the Government of Comoros also signed letters of exchange in 2003 related to this project. Then, on November 1, 2004, both parties signed a grant agreement worth 2.9 billion Comorian francs for the Hahaya Prince Saïd Ibrahim Airport Terminal Construction Project. The Government of Comoros initially pledged to provide counterpart funding, but when it was unable to honor this pledge, the Chinese Government committed additional grant funding worth 625 million francs. China’s Ministry of Commerce was the source of funding. The project involved the construction of a new terminal building, airport runway, and parking lot; apron repairs; the installation of a 4,700 meter fence, and the provision of x-ray equipment, electronic gantries, baggage belts and around one hundred trolleys. As a result of the project, the capacity of the airport was expected to increase from 100,000 to 400,000 passengers per year. The Hahaya Prince Saïd Ibrahim Airport (AIMPSI) is located in the city of Moroni. China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd. was the contractor responsible for implementation. A formal groundbreaking ceremony was held on December 30, 2004. However, the project experienced various delays due to interruptions in the delivery of cement, water and electricity to the site of the airport. Construction began on March 31, 2006 and ended on October 31, 2006. Then, a “technical handover ceremony” took place on December 27, 2007. The project was formally handed over to the Government of Comoros on May 18, 2008.

Additional details

This project is also known as the Hahaya Prince Saïd Ibrahim Airport (AIMPSI) Rehabilitation Project and the Moroni-Hahaya International Airport Terminal Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 莫罗尼国际机场新航站楼 or 援科摩罗莫罗尼赛义德·易卜拉辛王子国际机场维修项目 or 科摩罗莫罗尼赛义德·易卜拉辛王子国际机场维修项目 or 科摩罗机场改扩建工程项目 or 科摩罗国际机场扩建工程 or 科摩罗国际机场新航站 or 新航站楼建设项目. The French project title is La Nouvelle Aérogare de l'Aéroport International Moroni Prince Said Ibrahim or Le Projet de réfection et d’extension de l’Aéroport International Moroni Prince Saïd Ibrahim or Le Projet de réhabilitation de l'Aéroport International Prince Said Ibrahim Moroni - Hahaya. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies this project as being financed by an $8 million China Eximbank loan. However, AidData has not identified any official sources indicating that China Eximbank issued a loan in support of this project.

Number of official sources

9

Number of total sources

20