[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] Cerro Azul Cement Plant in Venezuela (linked to #58677)

The China-Venezuela Joint Fund funded the Cerro Azul cement plant. Construction began on the plant in 2014, however the financial commitment date is unclear. The Medium source says that construction for the Cerro Azul cement plant began in 2010. The PDVSA source says that this plant has a production capacity of approximately 1 million metric tons of cement a year. The plant will cover over 3000 hectacres. Pilot cement production of high quality clinker began in September 2014 and it has an estimated annual production of 1 million tons of cement. The project is being built by Iran. Ehdasse Sanat, a subsidiary of Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization (IMIDRO) is the Iranian contractor for the project. In November 2018, it was revealed that as a result of corruption about 75% of Cemento Cerro Azul’s employees are administrative staff The China-Venezuela Joint Fund receives contributions from China Development Bank and FONDEN, and it is administered by Bandes. See project ID#58677 for more information on the fund. The first commitment to this fund was made in 2007.

Additional details

The flow type is unclear, however, the Chinese part of the fund is financed by a loan, so the same is assumed here. The status of the project is unclear, but the PDVSA source from 2014 makes it seem as though construction is pretty far along at the time. The transaction amounts for all sub-projects are accounted for in the projects for the three tranches and their renewals. Because it is unclear how much funding for each project is from the Chinese side and it is unclear which tranche is funding each sub-project, the transaction amounts should not be recorded until this information is known. This project is not suspected to be a duplicate of #58479, a cement plant, as it is funded by the Exim Bank.

Number of official sources

3

Number of total sources

10