China Eximbank provides $88 million loan for Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project (Linked to Project ID#60219)

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 Project ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006. Three of the subsidiary loans that were approved through the framework agreement included an $81 million loan in 2007 for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project (captured via Project ID#69336), an $84 million loan in 2010 for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Extension Project (captured via Project ID#69323), and an $88 million loan in 2010 for the Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project (captured via Project ID#69335). The estimated borrowing terms of these loans were as follows: 0.25% interest rate, 16.5-year maturity, and 4-year grace period. With respect to the $81 million loan for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project, the (principal) amount outstanding was $39,654,409 as of December 31, 2019. With respect to the $84 million loan for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Extension Project, the (principal) amount outstanding was $18,757,921 as of December 31, 2019. With respect to the $88 million loan for the Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project, the (principal) amount outstanding was $39,256,706 as of December 31, 2019. All three of these projects sought to strengthen the Brazzaville drinking water supply system from the Djiri River. The Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project involved the construction of a new water treatment plant called “Djiri 2” — north of the capital city of Brazzaville — with a treated water production capacity by 5,250 m3 per hour [“l’extension de l’usine d’eau de Djiri d’une capacité de production d’eau traitée supplémentaire de cinq mille deux cents cinquante (5.250) m3 par heure”]. It also involved the construction of: a new raw water intake to serve both the Djiri 1 and Djiri 2 water treatment plants; two raw water flow distribution structures, a ductile iron pipe (540 ml DN 1200) for the delivery of the total raw water flow for the Djiri 1 and Djiri 2 water treatment plants from the raw water pumping station to the primary distributor; a ductile iron pipe DN 700 for transferring the flow for Djiri 1 from the primary distributor to the secondary distributor; a water treatment system; a treated water tank with a capacity of 4,000 m3 (two compartments of 2,000 m3 each); a treated water pumping station with a capacity of 5,250 m3 / h, power 1,180 kW (i.e. 1,475 kVA), a common reagent building for the two water plants of Djiri 1 and Djiri 2 (the existing reagents building of Djiri 1 being converted into a reagent storage building for Djiri 1 and Djiri 2); two lime water saturators; a chlorine building housing the calcium hypochlorite dosing equipment for the two water plants and an electro chlorination station; a transformer station for the treated water pumping station equipped with two 6300 kVA transformers (including one emergency); a transformer station for filter washing equipment and process equipment, equipped with two 1000 kVA transformers (including one emergency); an electrical substation and an electricity distribution system; a control and supervision system; a television surveillance system; approximately 500 meter of fiber optic cable; a sanitation network; outdoor facilities; on-site accommodations for the staff of the Control Mission and the Administration; and fifteen new housing units (110 m 2 to 170 m 2 ) for operating staff. The Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project involved efforts to strengthen the treated water distribution network (“le renforcement du réseau de distribution d’eau traitée.”) in the capital city of Brazzaville. More specifically, it involved the rehabilitation of a 10,000 m³ reservoir and a 4,000 m³ water tower; the construction of seven reservoirs (6,000 m 3 , 5,000 m³, 3,500 m³, 3,000 m³, 2,250 m³, 1,250 m³, 300 m³); the construction of four recovery stations (80,000 m3 / d, 3 + 1 pumps 500 kW, 1 + 1 transformers 2,000 kVA; 8,200 m3 / d, 2 + 1 pumps 200 kW, 1 + 1 transformers 630 kVA; 6,800 m3 / d, 2 + 1 pumps 110 kW, 1 + 1 transformers 400 kVA; 1,800 m3 / d, 2 + 1 pumps 30 kW, 1 + 1 transformers 160 kVA); the installation of power supply for recovery stations (laying approximately 2.3 km of 20 kV underground lines); the laying 183,000 ml of pipes for the primary network, including 61,000 ml of ductile iron DN 1000 to DN 500 and 122,000 ml of PVC pipes DN 400 to DN 200; and the installation of a remote management system between the sites of the recovery stations and reservoirs and the supervision room of the Djiri water treatment plants (for the transmission of data on water levels, flow rates). The Djiri Water Treatment Plant Extension Project involved the rehabilitation (modernization) of a water treatment plant called ‘Djiri 1’ — that was originally built in 1983 and is co-located with the Djiri 2 water treatment plant north of the capital city of Brazzaville — with treated water production capacity of 2,250 m3 per hour [“la réhabilitation de l’usine d’eau existante de Djiri d’une capacité de deux mille deux cents cinquante (2.250) m3 par heure”]. More specifically, it involved civil engineering rehabilitation works (settling tanks, filters, treated water tank, treated water pumping station, annex buildings); the replacement of all existing equipment; and the rehabilitation of the 16 existing accommodations for operating staff. China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC) was the contractor responsible for the implementation of all three projects. The Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project formally commenced on July 18, 2010; however, its construction began on November 11, 2009. Its originally anticipated completion date was November 10, 2012, and as of October 2012, it had achieved an 80% completion rate. The Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project commenced on December 7, 2010, and its originally anticipated completion date was November 21, 2013. The Djiri Water Treatment Plant Extension Project commenced on April 4, 2011, and its originally anticipated completion date was April 3, 2014. All three projects were were completed by July 15, 2014.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as Phase 2 of the Djiri Water Project. The Chinese project title is 吉利饮用水处理厂管网工程 or 完善城市供水管网. The French project title is Réseau de distribution or le renforcement du réseau de distribution d’eau traitée or Projet de construction des réservoirs et pose de réseau de distribution d’eau potable. 2. According to a 2019 report published by the Republic of Congo’s National Assembly, all loans approved under the framework agreement had an interest rate of 0.25%, maturities between 13 years and 20 years, and grace periods between 3 and 5 years. Therefore, since the maturity of the China Eximbank loan for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project is missing, AidData imputes a value (16.5 years) at the middle of the distribution of this maturity range as an approximation. Likewise, since the grace period of the loan is missing, AidData imputes a value (4 years) at the middle of the distribution of this range as an approximation. 3. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a single $213 million China Eximbank loan for the ‘Djiri; Drinking Water Supply Project’. AidData records the three separate China Eximbank loans for the Djiri Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project, Djiri Water Treatment Plant Extension Project, and Djiri Water Treatment Distribution Network Project that the Congolese authorities disclosed to the World Bank and the World Bank reported in its September 2014 Republic of Congo Economic Update publication. The total total reported cost of these 3 projects is $299,500,000, and China Eximbank reportedly covered 85% of the total cost of these 3 projects. This amount ($254,575,000) is roughly equivalent to the sum of the three China Eximbank loans for the three sub-projects ($253 million).

Number of official sources

10

Number of total sources

22