Chinese Government provides $20 million USD grant for Urban Security Monitoring System Project (Linked to Project ID#88678)

In 2006, amidst regional instability and terrorism, President of Djibouti Ismaïl Omar Guelleh ordered Djibouti's National Security Agency to conduct a feasibility study on a modern surveillance system for Djibouti City and the surrounding region. Then, on December 3, 2015, on the sidelines of the Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FSCA) held in Johannesburg, South Africa, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Guelleh discussed the establishment of a framework for the implementation of a Chinese-installed video camera surveillance system. Then, on January 24, 2017 and February 2, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Djibouti signed an exchange of letters in which the Chinese Government committed $20 million USD in grant funding to Djibouti for the Urban Security Monitoring System Project. China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) was the specific Chinese Government institution responsible for providing this grant. A project management team had visited Djibouti for inspection work on July 18 to August 5, 2017. On December 5, 2017, MOFCOM released a tender notice for the project, which noted that the project had a planned start date in the third quarter of 2018 (between July 1 and September 30, 2018) with a planned construction period of 18 months (between January 1 and March 30, 2020). The contractor, a Chinese company, would work under an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC contract), as well as provide two years of training and maintenance services and one year of technical support after the handover (for the MOFCOM tender notice, see "采购招标公告"). China Railway Construction Group won the contract for the project in April 2018; it sent a technical team to carry out studies the same month. Then, in May 2018, China hosted a one-month long seminar and training on surveillance camera systems for 29 Djiboutian public security agents (see linked project ID#88678). In July 2018, a Djiboutian technical team finalized and signed an agreement for the project during a visit to China. The surveillance system — consisting of 600-800 surveillance (CCTV) cameras with facial recognition technology — was set to cover Djibouti City and extend from Loyada to PK20. Similar projects at the Galiley, Galafi, and Balho border crossing were also planned. The security command center, controlled by Djibouti's security agencies, was constructed on a 3000 square plot offered by the Djibouti Republican Guard in Djibouti City. The camera terminal was designed with solar panels, while all signal transmission was designed to be back transmitted using microwave wireless networks for flexibility, security, and reliability. Additionally, the project included a new main dispatch command center system, along with two backup sets. Through a multi-mode access network capable of sorting and saving audio and video data, the system was designed to manage Djibouti's police operations. The surveillance system covered urban areas, airports, terminals, ports, and other spots of interest throughout Djibouti City was expected to provide the safety of Djibouti, including Chinese enterprises. China Railway Electrification Bureau (Group) Co., Ltd. (EEB) and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. were responsible for project implementation. BUCEA Jingjing Dafang Engineering Management Co., Ltd. was responsible for project management. Work on the security command center began on September 27, 2018, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister of Djibouti Abdoulkader Kamil Mohamed. The project passed mid-term inspection after a visit from a project supervision team from MOFCOM from May 20 to May 30, 2019. The project reached completion on January 5, 2021, when it was accepted by expert reviewers. Another two years of maintenance and one year of technical support work by the Chinese were planned for the surveillance system after completion.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Video Surveillance System Installation and Construction Project and the Djibouti City Security Surveillance System. The French project title is Centre d’assistance de système de surveillance de sécurité de la ville de Djibouti or Projet d’Assistance de Système de Surveillance pour la sécurité de Djibouti-ville. The Chinese project title is 吉布提城市安全监控系统项目.

Number of official sources

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Number of total sources

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