China Eximbank provides $52.7 million preferential buyer’s credit loan for the Alédjo and Défalé Bypass Road Development and Asphalting Project (Linked to Record ID#392)

Project narrative

On September 7, 2009, the Export-Import Bank of China and the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Togo signed a $165 million preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement for the Togolese Road Network Partial Renovation Project (captured by Record ID#392). The PBC carried the following terms: a maturity of 20 years, a grace period of 7 years, and an interest rate of 2%. One of the projects financed with the proceeds of the loan loan was the Alédjo and Défalé Bypass Road Development and Asphalting Project. Approximately $52,726,683.19 of the loan proceeds were used by the borrower to finance 85% of the cost of a $62,031,391.99 commercial contract between the Government of Togo and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which was signed on November 6, 2008. The Government of Togo provided the remaining funds for the project. The project involved the development and asphalting of an 18.1 km bypass road around the Alédjo fault and a 12.1 km bypass road around the Défalé mountains. Both of these bypasses lie along National Road 1 (RN1). The 18.1 km segment consists of two sections: a 9km section that begins in Aléhéridè and runs eastward, ending at the Para commando training center in Kpéwa; and a 9km section that begins in the village of Bola and runs eastward to Balilo and Bafilo. The 12.1 km Défalé bypass begins at the Défalé market and runs eastward to the Oando gas station in the town of Kanté. The rehabilitation of the 18.1 km segment was designed to allow vehicles with heavy loads to more effectively navigate the extremely sharp gradient of the road that runs between the localities of Aléhéridé, Alédjo and Bafilo. CRBC was the contractor responsible for implementation. Works control and supervision services, which were 100 percent financed by the West African Development Bank (BOAD), were undertaken by CIRA SAS. The beneficiary of the project was Togo's Ministry of Public Works and Transport. A formal project commencement ceremony, attended by President of Togo Faure Gnassingbé, was held on February 4, 2010. However, construction did not begin until September 18, 2010. Construction ended on February 15, 2014. The project was provisionally accepted on August 22, 2014 and was officially commissioned in December 2014. The Défalé Bypasss (Le contournement de Défalé) opened to traffic on December 23, 2015.