[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $8.9 loan for Manono Road Rehabilitation and Modernization Project (Linked to Record ID#450)

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 $8,986,554.20 loan for the Manono Road Rehabilitation and Modernization Project. As of 2020, the loan had achieved a disbursement rate of 87.6%. This project involves the rehabilitation and modernization of a 3.84 km road network in the town of Manono within Tanganyika Province. CREC 9 — a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) — is the contractor responsible for project implementation. It was awarded a $5 million contract (ID#ACGT/DG/005/2015) on August 17, 2015. The contract was subsequently amended to include $521,585.97 for the Route municipal Line Z (.256 km), $745,226.61 for the Route municipal Line 5 (.4 km), $973,651.14 for the Route municipal Line D (.38 km), $461,956.95 for the Route municipal Line C (.28 km), $1,187,384.24 for the Route municipal Line A (.865 km), and $96,749.29 for the Route municipal Line L (.927 km). Then, on October 10, 2018, construction began. The project was completed on April 13, 2022.