Chinese Government provides CFA 60 billion grant for the Bobo-Dioulasso University Hospital Center (CHU) Construction Project

Project narrative

Following the resumption of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Burkina Faso on May 26, 2018, the PRC Government agreed through its Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) to provide a grant worth CFA 60 billion to the Government of Burkina Faso to fully finance the Bobo-Dioulasso University Hospital Center (CHU) Construction Project. The purpose of the project is to construct a 500-bed university hospital center. China Aviation Planning and Design Institute (Group) Co., Ltd. (AVIC CAPDI) is responsible for project design and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) is responsible for project implementation. To implement the project, the municipal council of the municipality of Bobo-Dioulasso adopted, on April 19, 2019, a decision on the partial declassification of 160,000 m2 of the classified Kua forest. The project location become a bone of contention, as it has faced environmental and other Burkinabe opposition due to its location in the heart of Burkina Faso's Kua forest. After 18 months of protest, on August 13, 2020, in Bobo-Dioulasso, Christophe Marie Joseph Dabiré, the Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, announced the introduction of a new location, the village of Pala near the city of Bobo-Dioulasso. After the presentation of detailed architectural plans for the University Hospital of Bobo-Dioulasso to the Government of Burkina Faso on April 15, 2021, the plan were officially approved by the Chinese side as well on June 16, 2021. Then, on October 21, 2021, the Chinese Ambassador to Burkina Faso, Li Jian participated in a meeting by videoconference call with representatives of Burkinabè Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs as well as the National BTP Laboratory on the implementation of the project. Beijing Urban Construction won the MOFCOM bid to implement the project in September 2021. Although a formal bricklaying ceremony took place on October 20, 2020, the project’s formal commencement date was December 23, 2021. The project successfully passed mid-term acceptance in May 2023. It was originally expected to reach completion within 36 months (December 23, 2024). On January 24, 2025, Burkina Faso's Prime Minister visited the project site and flagged his concern that the implementation of the project had fallen behind schedule (with a revised completion target of June 2025). He requested a formal commitment from Beijing Urban Construction to complete the project by June 2025.