Chinese Government provides 50 RMB million loan for Cotonou Congress Center Construction Project (linked to #72541, #59738)

Between 1998 and 2001, China’s Ministry of Commerce reportedly issued an RMB 50 million interest-free loan and an RMB 30 million interest-free loan to the Government of Benin for the Cotonou Congress Center Construction Project. The loans carried the same borrowing terms: 0% interest, 20 year maturity, and 10 year grace period. This project captures the RMB 50 million loan commitment, and Project ID#72541 captures the RMB 30 million loan commitment. This project involved the construction of a conference center — known as the Congress Centre of Cotonou or the Palais des congrès de Cotonou — in the capital city of Cotonou on Marina Boulevard. More specifically, it involved the construction of a 1,200-seat auditorium (with 800 seats on the ground floor and 400 seats upstairs), a 300-seat conference room, and a 300-seat multifunctional hall. China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. (CSCEC) was the contractor responsible for implementation. Construction officially began in August 2001 and was completed on 15 March, 2003. A formal project handover ceremony was held on 31 July, 2003. Linked ProjectID#59738 captures the RMB 73 million grant provided by China's Ministry of Commerce for the Cotonou Congress Center Rehabilitation Project in 2017.

Additional details

This project is also known as the Cotonou Conference Center Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 援贝宁科托努会议大厦项目 or 科托努会议大厦. The French project title is Cotonou Palais des Congrès. SAIS-CARI identifies the year of commitment as 2001; however, this loan was not included in a list of 2000-2017 Chinese Government loans that Benin’s Ministry of Economy and Finance provided to AidData’s Executive Director in May 2018 via email correspondence (See: Demande de liste de prêts des institutions gouvernementales chinoises). Also, some sources identify the loan signature dates as 20 January, 1998 and 18 June, 1998 (See: DECRET No 98-60). This issue merits further investigation, as it is possible that the loans were issued by MOFCOM in the late 1990s but not officially approved by Benin’s Parliament until 2001.

Number of official sources

11

Number of total sources

17