China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd. provides a $5.1 million supplier's credit loan for St. Mark's Flood Mitigation Project (Linked to Record ID#85813 and #85814)

Project narrative

In 2013, China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd. (CHEC) provided a $5.1 million supplier's credit (loan) to the Government of Grenada. The House of Representatives of Grenada approved the 2013 Budget Loan Authorisation Act, 2013, which included the loan, on April 18, 2013. The Senate of Grenada approved the authorization on April 24, 2013. The act received the assent of the Governor-General of Grenada on May 2, 2013, but the interest rate, terms and repayment, and fees were all to be negotiated at a later date. The supplier's credit loan was intended to finance a commercial contract between CHEC and the Government of Grenada signed on April 12, 2013 for the St. Mark's Flood Mitigation Project. The entire project cost EC$13 million. The purpose of this project was to protect the town of Victoria from flooding via involved the construction of flood mitigation structures, watercourse dredging, and the reconstruction and enhancement of slope protection along St. Mark's River. It also included addition of new signs for swimming areas as well as repairs to the waterfront and road subgrade. The project specifically sought to construct gabion bank protection walls over an area of 900 meters along the banks of the river. The walls were to stretch from the sea to the Bonair Government School. St. Mark's River is located in Saint Mark Parish, where flooding during the rainy season had caused house collapses and deaths. The project sought to protect residents and properties from the flooding risk, and allow the area to become a place of tourism and leisure for the parish. CHEC was the contractor for project implementation, while Grenada's Ministry of Works was the Grenadian government agency responsible for certifying the project. CHEC used a large section of the grounds of the Bonair Government School as a project site; it also donated school supplies to students at the school (as captured via Record ID#85814) and donated a basketball court (as captured via Record ID#85813) during the implementation of the flood mitigation project. The project's groundbreaking ceremony was held on May 29, 2013 and was attended by Prime Minister of Grenada Keith Mitchell. The construction period was originally expected to last 12 months. The project was ultimately completed on June 27, 2014 in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Mitchell. The ceremony was held on the newly-built basketball court donated by CHEC the same day. There are some indications that the loan for the St. Mark's Flood Mitigation Project may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender. In March 2013, the Government of Grenada defaulted on its foreign and local currency debt maturing in 2025, ceasing service on $193 million external debt and EC$184 million in local currency debt.