State Grid Corporation of China to provide supplier's credit to Ethiopian Electric Utility $500 million for electricity distribution line rehabilitation

In October 2017, the Ethiopian Electricity Utility (EEU) indicated that it would enter into a $500 million supplier's credit agreement with the State Grid Corporation of China to rehabilitate distribution lines in 54 towns and construct 17 distribution centers. The proceeds from the supplier's credit would be used to build electric power distribution centers at 17 industrial parks. Three of these industrial parks are currently operational, while the remaining 14 are under construction. These 17 industrial parks need a total of 2,000MW electric power, while the total electric power generating a capacity of the country is 4238MW. However, it is not clear if this loan agreement was ever finalized. The State Grid Corporation of China announced in 2019 that it would invest $1.8 billion in the same set of industrial parks, so it may have ultimately decided to use equity rather than debt to support this project. Further details of the loan, the project's current status, and the specific part of the Chinese government that granted the loan are unclear.

Number of official sources

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