China Eximbank provides loan for construction of 1,480 km fibre optic network from Chad to Sudan

In 2015, the Chinese Government agreed to fund the construction of a 1480 km fiber-optic cable connecting the capital city of N'Djamena with the Al-Junaynah area of Sudan as well as the Abéché and Adre areas of Chad. According to Chad's Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the project was financed by a credit agreement with China Eximbank. The total cost of the commercial contract for the project was $38.6 million, but it is unclear what percentage of the commercial contract cost was financed by China Eximbank. A special purpose vehicle called SUDATCHAD — jointly owned by the Government of Chad and the Government of Sudan — was established to manage the financing, design, implementation, and maintenance of the project. Huawei Technologies was the contractor responsible for project implementation. Construction began in June 2014, and the main fiber optic cable was laid by the end of May 2015. At the beginning of 2017, China’s MOFCOM reported that the project was ‘basically complete’. However, according to Idriss Saleh Bachar, the President of Chad’s Regulatory Council of ARCEP (Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications and Posts), the project was ultimately not completed until November 28, 2018. Then, in July 2019, the fiber optic cable was officially inaugurated by the President of Chad, Idriss Deby, and put into use. Inclement weather and financing problems at ARCEP (related to declining oil prices) delayed the implementation of this project.

Additional details

1. The French project title is La fibre optique Tchad-Soudan. The Chinese project title is 乍得-苏丹通讯光缆项目. 2. One World Bank source (http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/100611482161172882/Central-African-Backbone-APL1A-ICR-P108368-final-cleared-12162016.docx) suggests that this project was ‘funded by Huawei’. Another source (https://magazinedelafrique.com/african-business/idriss-saleh-bachar-mon-pays-a-lheure-de-leconomie-numerique/) suggests that this project was ultimately financed by the Government of Chad rather than China Eximbank. This issue requires further investigation. 3. Some sources suggests that the project ultimately laid approximately 1,204 km rather than 1,480 km of fiber optic cable. This issue requires further investigation. 4. The face value of the loan is unknown. For the time being, AidData assumes that the loan was provided in the form of a buyer's credit and it financed 85% of the $38.6 million commercial contract cost. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

7

Number of total sources

13