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Overview

ICBC provides $85.4 million loan for Port-Gentil Stadium Construction Project

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$89,370,340
Commitment Year•2015Country of Activity•GabonDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•GabonSector•Other Social Infrastructure And ServicesFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date
Jun 1, 2015
Start (actual)
Jul 18, 2015
End (actual)
Sep 1, 2017
First repayment (originally scheduled)
Jul 1, 2016
Last repayment (originally scheduled)
Dec 29, 2024

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

Visualizes the AidData-provided feature geometry for this project.

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This project involved the construction of a stadium in the city of Port-Gentil. More detailed locational information can be found at https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/444156369.

Stakeholders

Organizations involved in projects and activities supported by financial and in-kind transfers from Chinese government and state-owned entities

Ultimate beneficial owners

At least 25% host country ownership

Funding agencies

State-owned Commercial Banks

  • Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

Receiving agencies

Government Agencies

  • Government of Gabon

Implementing agencies

State-owned companies

  • China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC)

Insurance providers

State-owned companies

  • China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation (Sinosure)

Loan desecription

ICBC provides $85.4 million loan for Port-Gentil Stadium Construction Project

Grace period•1.5 yearsGrant element•26.2363%Interest rate (t₀)•3.42365%Interest type•Variable Interest RateLoan tenor•6-month rateMaturity•10 years

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On December 4, 2015, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) signed a $85,423,894.20 loan agreement with the Government of Gabon for the Port-Gentil Stadium Construction Project. The Sinosure-backed loan carried the following borrowing terms: a 10 year maturity, a 1.5 year grace period, and an interest rate of 6-month LIBOR plus a 3% margin. The project involved the construction of a 20,000 seat stadium with a track, two outdoor basketball courts, and three outdoor tennis courts. China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on July 18, 2015. The project was completed in December 2016 and the stadium was inaugurated on September 1, 2017. There are multiple indications that the ICBC loan for the Port-Gentil Stadium Construction Project financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender. In 2019, the Government of Gabon fell into payment arrears under the ICBC loan agreement for the Port-Gentil Stadium Construction Project. Sinosure subsequently made seven indemnity payments to ICBC worth $41.66 million.

Staff comments

1. The French project title is Projet de Conception et de Construction du Stade de Port-Gentil. The Chinese project title is 筑承建的加蓬让蒂尔体育场项目 or 加蓬让蒂尔港体育场项目. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a $93 million ICBC loan for this project and it does not identify the interest rate of the loan. AidData relies on the face value ($85,423,894) and interest rate (6-month LIBOR + a 3% margin) of the loan that is recorded by the National Assembly of Gabon and the Directorate General of Debt within Gabon’s Ministry of Economy. 3. Sinosure claims that the Government of Gabon defaulted due to “multiple unfavorable factors, such as the low debt management efficiency of the borrowers, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the plunge in international oil prices.” See https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/zJiy_M1TmfZ1ZNdTOPCy6g