China Eximbank provides $20.9 million preferential buyer's credit for Safe City Project

Project narrative

On May 20, 2013, the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Tajikistan and Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) signed a $20,900,000 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) for the Safe City Project. The PBC (loan) agreement was ratified by the Tajik Parliament in June 2013. The loan carries the following borrowing terms: a 2% interest rate, a 20-year maturity, a 9-year grace period, a 0.2% commitment fee, and a 0.2% management fee ($41,800). The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to finance 95% of the total cost of a $22 million commercial contract between Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan, which was signed on December 22, 2012. The borrower was also expected to repay the loan with revenues from the traffic fines generated by this project. The Safe City Project involved the installation of 855 CCTV cameras for round-the-clock monitoring of traffic and other movements at 75 crossroads, streets, and squares in the capital city of Dushanbe. The cameras were to record every offense committed by drivers, which would be stored and processed in a common database. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was responsible for project implementation. Tajik Ministry of Internal Affairs was also responsible for undertaking the project. The project and the control center were officially launched on October 31, 2013 by President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon. The Safe City Project was to be carried out in three stages; the second stage was expected to be finished in May 2014. The project was still on going as of December 2014. As of January 16, 2015, it had reportedly generated $4 million for the Tajik state budget via traffic fines. Construction was completed in October 2015.