China Eximbank provides RMB 250 million loan for 147MW Adjarala Hydroelectric Power Plant Project (Linked to Record ID#2170 and ID#58671, ID#58674)

Project narrative

On December 15, 2015, China Eximbank and the Government of Benin signed a $211.31 million preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement for the Adjarala Hydroelectric Power Plant Project. The PBC carries the following borrowing terms: a 20-year maturity, a 7-year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. Then, on July 12, 2016, China Eximbank and the Government of Benin signed an RMB 400 million government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Adjarala Hydroelectric Power Plant Project. The GCL carries the following borrowing terms: a 20-year maturity, a 7-year grace period, and a 2% interest rate. China Eximbank also signed an RMB 250 million ($61 million) loan agreement with the Government of Togo on May 23, 2016 for the Adjarala Hydroelectric Power Plant Project. The PBC is captured via Record ID#58674, and the GCL is captured vis Record ID#58671. The loan issued to the Government of Togo is captured in Record ID#68762. The proceeds from these three loans are to be used by the borrowers to finance a FCFA 265,814,526,897 commercial contract between le Communauté Electrique du Bénin (CEB) and Sinohydro, which was signed on April 25, 2014. The project involves the construction of a dam in Adjarala, which is located approximately 100 km downstream of the 65MW Nangbéto hydropower plant on the Mono River. The dam will stand 40 meters tall, with a 3.7 long kilometer reservoir. The project also involves the construction of 252 kilometers of 161 KV high voltage power transmission lines, water diversion systems, plants, access roads and other ancillary facilities. The ultimate objective of the project is to strengthen regional energy interconnection and alleviate electric power shortages in Benin and Togo. Sinohydro is the contractor responsible for implementation. A groundbreaking ceremony took place on December 26, 2015. Then, in December 2016, the project was suspended after the Togolese Minister of Economy and Finance announced that there were insufficient financial resources to complete the project. The project resumed in January 2017, and as of September 2017 it was still under construction. The Adjarala hydropower plant has since been cancelled , although the date the decision was made is unclear.