Chinese Government provides RMB 40 million grant for Prime Minister's Office Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#63179)

On January 13, 2013, the Chinese Government and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu signed a grant agreement for the Prime Minister's Office Construction Project. Some of the grant proceeds were drawn from an Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) that the two governments signed in 2009 (see Project ID#63179). The purpose of the project was to renovate and expand the Office of the Prime Minister on the Island of Efate in the Province of Shefa. The Chinese side agreed to demolish an existing two-floor building and one-floor building and car parking shed behind the U shape building to allow for a new Prime Ministers Office Complex to be constructed on the same site. The project involved the construction of a three-floor office building with 15 large offices, 7 ordinary meeting rooms, a multi-functional meeting room, a ministerial conference room, a multi-functional hall, and a VIP reception room. China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd. was the contractor responsible for implementation. The Chinese Government and the Government of the Republic of Vanuatu signed letters of exchange for a project feasibility study on March 3, 2010. Then, a design survey was undertaken from October 2013 to November 2013. On October 28, 2014, the preliminary design documents were forwarded to the Government of Vanuatu for consideration. In January 2015, the Government of Vanuatu acknowledged receipt of the preliminary design for the extension of the Office of the Prime Minister. A groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 14, 2016, and construction began shortly thereafter. On August 30, 2017, a project handover ceremony was held. The project was completed 60 days ahead of schedule.

Additional details

This project is also known as the Prime Minister's Office Expansion and Extension Project and New Prime Minister’s Office Building Complex Project. The Chinese project title is 中国援瓦总理府办公楼扩建项目 or 总理府办公楼扩建项目. The exact monetary value of the grant commitment that supported this project is unknown. However, the value of the construction contract that the donor (China’s Ministry of Commerce) issued to China State Construction Engineering Corp. Ltd. was worth approximately RMB 40 million. Therefore, AidData treats RMB 40 million as the grant commitment value for the time being.

Number of official sources

17

Number of total sources

28