China Eximbank provides RMB 47 million government concessional loan for Phase 2 of Rural Grid Extension Project (Linked to Project ID#32216, #62331, and #62333

On September 29, 2014, China Eximbank and the Government of Cambodia's Ministry of Finance signed an RMB 47,088,128 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for Phase 2 of the Rural Grid Expansion Project. The GCL carried the following borrowing terms: a 20-year maturity, a 7-year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. The proceeds of the GCL were to be used by the borrower to finance an EPC (commercial) contract between Electricite du Cambodge (EDC) — the country’s state-owned electricity utility — and China National Heavy Machinery Corporation (CHMC), which was signed on January 24, 2014. The purpose of the second phase of the project was to construct more than 2,040 km of distribution lines and 220 km of transmission lines in 14 provinces, including Kandal, Kampong Speu, Kampong Chhnang, Pursat, Siem Reap, Oddar Meanchey, Preah Vihear, Kampong Cham, Kratie, Stung Treng, Ratanakiri, Mondulkiri, Koh Kong, and Preah Sihanouk. CHMC was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. Construction started on December 4, 2014. China Eximbank conducted an on-site project inspection on April 26, 2016. Phase 2 was ultimately completed on September 28, 2016, when the General Manager of Electricite du Cambodge officially issued the project completion certificate.

Additional details

1. The Chinese project title is 柬埔寨农村电网扩建工程二期 or 柬埔寨农村电扩建二期工程项目. 2. In the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020, it identifies the face value of the loan that supported Phase 2 as $90 million. AidData relies on the face value (RMB 47,088,128) that is recorded in the Government of Cambodia’s aid and debt information management system, which is maintained on behalf of all ministries and agencies of the Royal Government of Cambodia by the Cambodian Rehabilitation and Development Board (CRDB) of the Council for the Development of Cambodia (CDC). 3. Sources differ on the exact scope of the EPC contract. One CHMC source states that the EPC contractor was responsible for installing 750 km of overhead lines, 50 km of underground cables, 15 km of underground cable through a river. 4. China Eximbank also financed Phases 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the Rural Grid Extension Project. Phase 1 is captured in Project ID#32216. Phases 3 and 4 are captured in Project ID#62331. Phases 5 and 6 are captured in Project ID#62333.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

10