Overview

China Eximbank provides $45 million loan for August 15 Camp Housing Units Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#60219)

Commitments (Constant USD, 2023)$84,443,224

Commitment Year•2006Country of Activity•CongoDirect Recipient Country of Incorporation•CongoSector•Other Social Infrastructure And ServicesFlow Type•Loan

Status

Project lifecycle

Completion

Pipeline: PledgePipeline: CommitmentImplementationCompletion

Timeline

Key dates

Commitment date: Jun 19, 2006

Start (actual): Sep 1, 2010

End (actual): Oct 1, 2016

First repayment (originally scheduled): Dec 31, 2010

Last repayment (originally scheduled): Dec 27, 2025

Geospatial footprint

Map overview

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This project involved the construction of 200 housing units in the August 15 camp (le Camp 15 août) within the capital city of Brazzaville. More detailed locational information can be found at https://www.openstreetmap.org/way/515550297.

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 Policy Banks

Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)

Receiving agencies

Government Agencies

Government of Republic of Congo

Implementing agencies

State-owned companies

Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (BCEG)
Weihai International Economic & Technical Cooperative Co., Ltd (WIETC)

Collateral providers

State-owned companies

Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)

Loan description

China Eximbank provides $45 million loan for August 15 Camp Housing Units Construction Project

Grace period•5 yearsGrant element•65.0736%Interest rate (t₀)•0.25%Interest type•Fixed Interest RateMaturity•20 years

Collateral

This China Eximbank loan -- and other subsidiary China Eximbank loans approved under a June 19, 2006 framework agreement that was renewed/extended in 2012 -- was collateralized against cash proceeds from SNPC oil export sales to Chinese importers (through an offtake agreement), which were deposited in a China Eximbank-controlled escrow account. The Republic of Congo was required to maintain a minimum cash balance in the escrow account equivalent to approximately 20% of its total outstanding debt to China Eximbank. The cash balance in the China Eximbank-controlled escrow account was $534,238,226 (CFA 272,846,414,000) in 2011, an unknown amount in 2012, an unknown amount in 2013, an unknown amount in 2014, an unknown amount in 2015 (equivalent to 26% of SNPC oil sales in 2015), $281,560,937 in 2016 (equivalent to 7,558,672 barrels of oil or 32% of SNPC oil sales in 2016), $338,285,020 in 2017 (equivalent to 23.25% of SNPC oil sales in 2017), $513,780,005 in 2018 (equivalent to 7,411,386 barrels of oil, eight oil cargoes, or 30.22% of SNPC oil sales in 2018), $523,547,187 in 2019 (equivalent to 8,228,065 barrels of oil, 9 oil cargoes, or 32.56% of SNPC oil sales in 2019), $266,659,781 in 2020 (equivalent to 6,349,813 barrels of oil, 7 oil cargoes, or 31.61% of SNPC oil sales in 2020), $319,164,228 in 2021 (equivalent to 4,585,056 barrels of oil or 21.4% of SNPC oil sales in 2021), and $356,343,684 in 2022 (equivalent to 3,634,514 barrels of oil 13.09% of SNPC oil sales in 2022).

Narrative

Full Description

Project narrative

On June 19, 2006, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $1.6 billion loan framework agreement — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership” (“partenariat stratégique”) — that allowed the Republic of Congo to obtain China Eximbank loans for infrastructure projects through a securitization mechanism: Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)—the country’s state-owned oil company—agreed to deposit a portion of the cash proceeds from its oil exports into an escrow account that is controlled by China Eximbank. This framework agreement (captured in Record ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006. One of the subsidiary loans that was approved through the framework agreement was a $45 million loan in 2006 for August 15 Camp Housing Units Construction Project. This loan carried the following borrowing terms: 0.25% interest rate, 20-year maturity, and a 5-year grace period. As of 2014, USD 45 million had been disbursed. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was $16,025,908 as of December 31, 2019. This project involved the construction of 200 housing units in the August 15 camp (le Camp 15 août) within the capital city of Brazzaville. It also involved the construction of a kindergarten and roads for the new housing development. Weihai International Economic & Technical Cooperative Co., Ltd (WIETC) and Beijing Construction Engineering Group (BCEG) were the contractors responsible for implementation. Construction began in September 2010 and ended in October 2013. However, according to the Republic of Congo’s Ministry of Public Works, the project was not complete until January 1, 2016.

Staff comments

1. This project is also known as the Social Housing Complex 815-200 Units Project. The French project title is le Camp 15 août or Logements 15 Août de Brazzaville. The Chinese project title is 815住宅项目 or 815住房项目 or 布拉柴皮拉区200套住宅.