Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In 2018, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) and the Government of Angola signed a $405,053,533 loan agreement for the Zaire Province Electrification Project. The loan agreement entered into force on September 17, 2018. but it is unclear when the loan agreement itself was signed. The borrowing terms are also unknown. The proceeds of the loan were used to be used by the borrower to partially finance a $435,517,852 commercial contract with TBEA. The purpose of the project was to develop electrification and home connections in Zaire province. TBEA was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction began on April 28, 2017. The first power substation under the project successfully supplied power on August 12, 2018. When completed and put into use, the project is expected to benefit more than 70,000 local residents. According to multiple reports, this project complements the construction of the Soyo-Kapary power project (as captured via Record ID#43782).
Staff comments
1. The Portuguese project name is Electrificação e Ligações Domiciliares na Província do Zaire. The Chinese project name is 扎伊尔省供电项目. 2. Given that ICBC agreed to provide a loan to finance approximately 90% of the cost of the commercial contract, AidData assumes that the loan was issued in the form of a buyer's credit. This issue warrants further investigation.