Chinese Government provides RMB 118.6 million grant — via ETCA — for Cañas-Bebedero Aqueduct Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#54673 and ID#72563)

Project narrative

On May 19, 2017 and July 19, 2017, the Chinese Government and the Government of Costa Rica signed letters of exchange, committing of RMB 107,890,000 grant funding for the Cañas-Bebedero Aqueduct Construction Project. At some point, the face value of the Chinese Government’s grant commitment apparently increased to RMB 118,657,500. The grant proceeds were drawn from Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreements (ETCAs) signed by the two governments on December 11, 2015 and November 24, 2016. The purpose of the project was to construct the Cañas-Bebedero aqueduct in Guanacaste province in order to deliver drinking water from the Sandillal reservoir to 27,000 residents of Cañas, Palmira, San Miguel, Bebedero and Porozal. China Urban Construction Research Institute (CUCD) and China Tiesiju Civil Engineering Group (CTCE) were the contractors responsible for project implementation. Additionally, China Railway 4th Bureau participated in project construction. The project commenced on April 10, 2019 and it was originally expected to reach completion within 18 months (October 10, 2020). However, the completion and acceptance certification for China Railway 4th Bureau's construction work did not occur until December 2021, with the project handed over to Costa Rican operators by CTCE on January 7, 2022. The formal handover ceremony -- and signing of the handover certificate by Chinese and Costa Rican officials -- took place on March 24, 2022.