[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $10 million loan for Solar Street Light Acquisition and Installation Project (Linked to Project ID#450)

In 2008, China Eximbank issued a $3 billion line of credit to Sino–Congolais des Mines (Sicomines SARL) — a joint venture — to finance infrastructure projects in the DRC (see Project ID#450). All borrowings through this line of credit (framework agreement) are repaid with revenues from mining projects managed by Sicomines SARL. Each subsidiary loan issued through the line of credit carries 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). The infrastructure projects that are supported by this line of credit are collectively referred to as 'Sino-Congolese Programme’. The Government of Democratic Republic of Congo issued a sovereign guarantee for all infrastructure loans approved through the 'Sino-Congolese Programme' line of credit. One of the subsidiary loans issued as part of the ‘Sino-Congolese Programme’ was a $10 million loan for the Solar Street Light Acquisition and Installation Project. As of 2020, the loan had achieved a disbursement rate of 85% ($8,534,403.23 out of $10,000,000). The purpose of the project was the acquisition and installation of 5000 solar street lights in Tanganyika Province. Sinohydro is the contractor responsible for project implementation. It was awarded a $10 million contract (ID#ACGT/DG/021/2015) on August 17, 2015. However, a company called Energy Plus was responsible for supplying the solar street lights (or “solar poles”). On November 25, 2017, project implementation commenced. The solar street light equipment arrived on-site on February 27, 2018. The original anticipated project completion date was April 21, 2018. The expected completion of the project was delayed to November 2018; however, it is unclear whether the project was ever completed. According to the ACGT 2018 Annual Report, sometime during 2018 the number of solar street lights to be acquired and installed was revised downward from 5000 to 1382.

Additional details

1. The French project title is Acquisition de 5000 poteaux solaires, Acquisition de 1.382 poteaux solaires, Acquisition de 1382 poteaux, or Projet des panneaux solaires. 2. Some sources refer to this project as being financed with a donation rather than a loan. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

14

Number of total sources

23