[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $15 million loan for Phase 1 of Kalemie Road Rehabilitation and Modernization Project (Linked to Record ID#450, #85273)

Project narrative

In 2008, China Eximbank issued a $3.003 billion general buyer's credit loan to Sino–Congolais des Mines (Sicomines SARL) — a joint venture — to finance infrastructure projects in the DRC (as captured via Record ID#450). All subsidiary borrowings under the (government-guaranteed) general buyer's credit loan agreement were to be repaid with revenues from mining projects managed by Sicomines SARL. Each subsidiary loan carried a maturity of 25 years, a grace period of 10 years, and an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR plus a 1% margin (or 3.839% at the time of the agreement). All infrastructure projects supported through the general buyer's credit loan were part of the so-called “Sino-Congolese Programme." One of the subsidiary loans issued as part of the ‘Sino-Congolese Programme' was a $15 million loan for Phase 1 of the Kalemie Road Rehabilitation and Modernization Project. The loan ultimately achieved a disbursement rate of 100% ($15 million out of $15 million). Phase 1 involved the rehabilitation and modernization of roads in Kalemie (including Lumumba Boulevard) in Tanganyika Province — specifically, the PK0 to PK4 + 600 stretch of road. CREC 9 — a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) — was the contractor responsible for project implementation. It was awarded a $10 million contract (ID#ACGT/DG/004/2015) on August 17, 2015 and a $5 million contract (ID#ACGT/DG/008/2018) on November 30, 2018. Then, on March 11, 2017, Phase 1 construction activities began. The project's first phase achieved provisional acceptance on August 24, 2019. Then, on October 27, 2020, is was officially completed. The original scheduled completion date for Phase 1 was August 24, 2019.