China Eximbank provides $181.8 million buyer’s credit loan for Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD) Yard and Access Road Project

On February 20, 2017, China Eximbank and the Government of Kenya signed a $181,887,499.62 buyer’s credit loan agreement for the Nairobi Inland Container Depot (ICD) Yard and Access Road Project. The loan carried a 2% interest rate and a maturity of 17.5 years (final maturity date: July 21, 2034). The borrower is responsible for repaying the loan over 12 years in 24 equal installments semi-annually (estimated grace period: 5.5 years). The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to partially finance a commercial (EPC) contract with China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The total estimated cost of the commercial contract (project) was 21 billion Kenyan shillings. Loan disbursements worth $39,831,709.10 took place between July 1, 2020 and June 30, 2021 (Fiscal Year 2020-2021). The borrower made repayments worth $13,126,968.38 between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022 (Fiscal Year 2021-2022). The loan’s amount outstanding was $117,691,911.53 as of June 30, 2020, $157,523,620.63 as of June 30, 2021, and $144,396,652.25 as of June 30, 2022. A key component of the project was the construction of two access roads linking the depot through the Southern and Eastern Bypasses. Road A was a 4.122 km access road that will link the ICD to the Southern Bypass at Olesereni, running alongside the Nairobi National Park. The second access road (3.044 km in length) was called Road B and it was expected to link the ICD to Eastern Bypass and connect to Thika. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) was the EPC (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) contractor responsible for project implementation. Kenya Railway Corporation (KR) supervised its work. Construction of the expansion and modernization of the ICD began on May 1, 2016. Then, on December 16, 2017, the ICD project component was completed. The project as a whole, including the access roads, was completed on December 17, 2019.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Construction of Nairobi Icd and Access Roads Project, the Nairobi ICD Yard and Access Roads Project, the Nairobi ICD Yard and Access Roads SGR Project, the ICD Project, and the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Embakasi in Nairobi Modernization and Expansion Project. The Chinese project title is 建的内罗毕内陆集装箱港. 2. A third access road (Road C) will link ICD to industrial area through Isuzu East Africa. 3. Some sources refer to China Communications Construction Group as another project contractor. 4. The amounts outstanding and repayments data are drawn from the Kenyan Treasury’s External Public Debt Register. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/549ixt2gj1jbjvi/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2022.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/0et4jg1qfg1bo7r/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2021.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/233j706743q7f1g/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2020.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/qkoybr9ja0ohemy/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2009.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/thy3s6ggjcjd97z/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2012.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/fzbfq01vas6m0i9/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2019.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/ennrl6d4zd2nizs/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2018.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/8ibazrj1a8oho2d/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2017.pdf?dl=0 and https://www.dropbox.com/s/wdbjl0wq49i09x1/External-Public-Debt-Register-as-at-End-June-2015.pdf?dl=0 5. This $181,887,499.62 loan is not included in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in 2020 and updated in 2021. Nor is it included in the China’s Overseas Development Finance Dataset published by Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center in December 2020. 6. The loan identification number in the Government of Kenya’s public debt register is 2017009 (2017009_1).

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

25