Chinese Government provides RMB 80 million grant for Loandjili General Hospital Construction Project

Project narrative

In 2002, the Chinese Government and the Republic of Congo signed a grant agreement for the Loandjili General Hospital Construction Project. China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was the source of grant funding and it reportedly committed RMB 80 million in total. This project involved the construction of the Loandjili General Hospital in the city of Pointe Noire. The hospital occupies 10,000 m^2 and it has 200 beds. It is reportedly able to accommodate 400 patients a day. The project was first approved on March 2, 1975. A construction design was completed in 1987, but then the Congolese side chose a different project site in 1994. The two governments signed an exchange of letters on July 22 and 28, 1994 to confirm that the Chinese Government would dispatch a team to inspect the new project site. Then, according to the exchange of letters signed by the two governments on February 23 and March 8, 2000, the Chinese Government dispatched another team in June 2000 to conduct a supplementary inspection of the project site and signed a project design contract. The Republic of Congo subsequently sent a representative in February 2001 to China to review the project design plans. Ultimately, Tianjin Architecture Design Institute (天津市建筑设计院) was selected to design the project and Liaoning Construction (辽宁金帝建设集团股份有限) was designated as the contractor responsible for implementation. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place in February 2002. However, project implementation did not begin until May 1, 2002. Then, from December 30, 2002 to January 8, 2003, MOFCOM’s Foreign Aid Department dispatched a five-person mid-term project inspection team to the Republic of Congo. A project acceptance and handover certificate was signed on February 19, 2004. Then, on February 20, 2004, a project completion ceremony was held.