Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
Between March 22 and 24, 2019, China Eximbank sent a pre-loan investigation group to Benin. The group's main objective was to continue financial negotiations with the Government of Benin regarding the Glo Djigbé International Airport Construction Project. According to the Government of Benin's 2019 Bond Prospectus, China Eximbank was expected to provide a loan to the Government of Benin for the airport project (p. 69). The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the China Eximbank loan was to partially finance a $796 million commercial contract with CACC International Engineering Co., Ltd., which was signed on October 14, 2016. Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding (YCIH), a private company, was expected to create a joint venture (special purpose vehicle) to operate this airport and sign a design-build-finance-operate-maintain (DBFOM) concession agreement with the Ministry of Finance of Benin. The purpose of this project is to construct a new international airport in Glo Djigbé and replace the Cardinal-Bernardin-Gantin Airport. A 40 km expressway will also be built as part of the project. The expressway will connect the airport to the fishing road with, at Cocotomey, a crossing of the national interstate road 1 going from the Togolese border to the Nigerian border via Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Ouidah. China Airport Construction Group Corporation (CACC) (state-owned enterprise), Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC), and Yunnan Construction and Investment Holding (YCIH) (private) are expected to complete the EPC works. ADP Group (Aéroport de Paris Ingénierie) is expected supervise the EPC work. Preliminary (pre-construction) works commenced on March 10, 2017. Construction was originally expected to begin in 2019 and end in 2022. China Eximbank reportedly authorized the loan for the project on May 18, 2021. However, there is no clear evidence of a loan agreement being signed. China Eximbank officials conducted an on-site inspection in March 2022. However, later in 2022, the Government of Benin decided to postpone works on Glo Djigbé to prioritize Cotonou Airport. Then, in May 2023, a delegation from the China-Africa Development Fund (CADF) visited Benin to discuss potential financing for the Glo Djigbé International Airport Construction Project.
Staff comments
1. The Chinese project title is 贝宁格鲁-吉贝新国际机场项目 or 贝宁新国际机场项目 or 宁格鲁·吉贝新国际机场项目. The French project title is CONSTRUCTION DE L’AÉROPORT INTERNATIONAL DE GLO-DJIGBÉ or Aéroport International de Glo-Djigbé. 2. According to a 2022 IMF report, 'a first contract, concerning the international airport of Glo-Djigbé, is about to be concluded. This contract, initially identified as a PPP mobilizes both public capital and Chinese private capital. However, the [IMF] mission does not have detailed information on this project.' 3. The Government of Benin’s 2019 Bond Prospectus puts the total cost of the project at $964 million, but its 2021 Bond Prospectus puts it at $600 million. Another Government of Benin source claims that the total cost of the project is $705.7 million, with the Government of Benin contributing $217 million and China Eximbank financing the remainder ($488.7 million). 4. The Chinese Loans to Africa (CLA) Database, managed by the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center, claims that China Eximbank issued a $670.74 million loan commitment for this project in 2021 (see https://www.bu.edu/gdp/files/2023/08/GCI_PB_019_CLA-2023-FIN.pdf). AidData has not independently corroborated this claim.