China Eximbank provides $328.1 million loan for Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#30235)

Project narrative

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 Record ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006. One of the subsidiary loans that was approved through the framework agreement was a $328.1 million loan in 2014 for the Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance 85% of the cost of a $386 million commercial contract. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was $257,756,900 as of December 31, 2019. Built on a space of 121,800 square meters, the 30-story, 135-meter-high twin towers — in the Mpila neighborhood within the capital city of Brazzaville — serve as a commercial center. In one of the towers, several floors are reserved for offices; the other tower houses a five-star hotel with three hundred and forty-nine rooms, including presidential suites, ministerial suites and standard rooms. Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (BCEG), Sanxin Facade Engineering Co.,Ltd, and AVIC were the contractors responsible for implementation. Construction began on July 1, 2015. The building reached its designed height on August 11, 2017. The project had achieved a 70% execution rate as of March 31, 2019. It was ultimately completed on October 30, 2019. The project employed 800 Congolese and Chinese technicians during the construction phase. A formal, ribbon-cutting and inauguration ceremony took place on October 23, 2023. Dieudonne Bantsimba, the mayor of Brazzaville, attended the ceremony and invited the Congolese people to take ownership of the two towers, which he said would contribute to the beautification of the Congolese capital. President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso also attended the ceremony. In his formal remarks, he said "I would like to congratulate the company managers, engineers and workers who created this magnificent work which symbolizes strength and beauty, and gives a very strong signal on the future of relations between China and Congo."