[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $7.5 million loan for Ankoro-Manono Road Rehabilitation and Modernization 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 the ‘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 $7.5 million loan for the Ankoro-Manono Road Rehabilitation and Modernization Project. As of 2020, the loan had achieved a disbursement rate of 57% ($4,287,363.84 out of $7,500,000). The project involved the rehabilitation and modernization of a 115 km road from Ankara to Manono. CREC 9 — a subsidiary of China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC) — is the contractor responsible for project implementation. It was awarded a $7,500,000 contract (ID#ACGT/DG/009/2015) on August 17, 2015. Project implementation commenced on December 28, 2018. As of September 2021, the road was still under construction.

Additional details

1. According to one source (ACGT's 2018 Annual Report), the total cost of this project was $7.5 million, of which the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo provided $2.5 million of counterpart funding. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

9