China Eximbank provides $32.6 million loan for Power Transmission System Associated with the Liouesso Hydroelectric Dam Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#60219)

On June 19, 2006, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $1.6 billion loan framework agreement — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership” (“partenariat stratégique”) — that allowed the Republic of Congo to obtain China Eximbank loans for infrastructure projects through a securitization mechanism: Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)—the country’s state-owned oil company—agreed to deposit a portion of the cash proceeds from its oil exports into an escrow account that is controlled by China Eximbank. This framework agreement (captured in Project ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006. One of the subsidiary loans that was approved through the framework agreement was a $32,621,176.00 loan in 2012 for the Power Transmission System Associated with the Liouesso Hydroelectric Dam Construction Project. The estimated borrowing terms of the loan are as follows: 15-year maturity, 5-year grace period, and a 0.25% interest rate. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $19,025,883 as of December 31, 2019. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to partially finance a $40 million commercial contract between the Republic of Congo and China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), which was signed on July 13, 2012. The project involved the construction of a power transmission system to evacuate electricity from the Liouesso hydroelectric dam. More specifically, it involved the construction of 74-km 110kV transmission line from Liouesso to Ouesso, an 85-km 30kV transmission line from Ouesso to Makoua and Owando to Makoua, one 110kV substation in Ouesso, and four 30kV substations (in Makoua and elsewhere). CMEC was the contractor responsible for project implementation. The project began on December 25, 2012, passed an initial inspection on November 14, 2015, and was commissioned on June 23, 2016. The project successfully passed its final inspection test on May 27, 2017. Then, on May 29, 2017, a power-on celebration and ribbon-cutting ceremony was held.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Power Transmission Project of Liouesso Hydropower Station. The French project title is Transport d'energie Liouesso or Reseau de Transport National Poste de Transformation THT 110/30kv de Ouesso. The Chinese project title is 刚果（布）利韦索水电站配套输变电项目 or 刚果输变电工程. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a $37 million China Eximbank loan (with a maturity length of 20 years) for this project. AidData relies on the face value of the loan ($32,621,176.00) and the maturity length (15 years) that is recorded by the Republic of Congo’s Public Debt Agency (Caisse Congolaise d’Amortissement or CCA) and Délégation Générale des Grands Travaux (DGGT). Also, according to a 2019 report published by the Republic of Congo’s National Assembly, all loans approved under the June 19, 2006 framework agreement had an interest rate of 0.25%, so AidData assumes an interest rate of 0.25%.

Number of official sources

9

Number of total sources

15