[Cancelled] China Eximbank provides RMB 1.24 billion loan for Phase 1 of Mamamah International Airport Project (Linked to Record ID#70476 and ID#73306)

Project narrative

In October 2011, China Eximbank reportedly pledged to fund the Mamamah International Airport Construction Project. This project would have involved the construction of Mamamah International Airport in the capital city of Freetown. Then, on December 13, 2012, the Government of Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation awarded a commercial contract to China Railway International Limited for the project. China Railway International Limited, in turn, made China Railway Seventh Group responsible for implementation. The project was to be financed and implemented in two phases. China Eximbank agreed in principle to provide a $200 million for Phase 1 and a $115 million loan for Phase 2. According to the Auditor General of Sierra Leone, the Government of Sierra Leone and the China Railway International Limited signed a supplier credit agreement worth RMB 17,773,471.16 for Phase 1 on May 22, 2013. Then, on February 8, 2018, the Government of Sierra Leone and China Eximbank signed an RMB 1,240,000,000 for Phase 1. The project officially commenced on March 1, 2018. However, after Julius Maada Bio came to power as the President of Sierra Leone on April 4, 2018, the Government of Sierra Leone withdrew its support for this project. The IMF and World Bank also raised debt sustainability concerns about this project. Then, in October 2018, the Government of Sierra Leone announced plans to suspend the project. The country’s aviation ministry announced that it was “uneconomical to proceed with the construction of a new airport when the existing one is grossly underutilized.. The Government of Sierra Leone instead decided to renovate the existing airport in Lungi. The Mamamah Airport project was officially cancelled. The China Eximbank loan for Phase 1 is captured in Record ID#62259. The supplier credit from China Railway International Limited is captured in Record ID#73306. The China Eximbank loan pledge for Phase 2 is captured in Record ID#70476.