China Eximbank provides $80 million loan for Liouesso-Ouesso Segment of National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project (Linked to Project ID#30235)

On March 29, 2013, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $600 million loan framework agreement (captured in Project ID#30235) — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership 3” (“partenariat stratégique 3”) — 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. Three of the subsidiary loans that were approved through the framework agreement supported Phase 2 of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project (also known as the Owando-Makoua-Liouesso-Ouesso Highway Rehabilitation Project). They included a $77,247,150.00 loan in 2013 for the Moyoye-Liouesso Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project (captured in Project ID#72915), a $80,020,838.15 loan for the Liouesso-Ouesso Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project (captured in Project ID#72916), and a $84,118,153.90 loan for the Mambili-Moyoye Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project (captured in Project ID#72912). The China Eximbank loan that supported the Moyoye-Liouesso Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project carried a 15-year maturity, but its interest rate and grace period are unknown. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $44,007,809 as of December 31, 2019. The China Eximbank loan that supported the Liouesso-Ouesso Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project carried a 14-year maturity, but its interest rate and grace period are unknown. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $46,675,629 as of December 31, 2019. The China Eximbank loan that supported the Mambili-Moyoye Segment of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project carried a 17-year maturity, but its interest rate and grace period are unknown. Its (principal) amount outstanding was $47,342,886 as of December 31, 2019. Phase 2 of the National Route 2 (RN2) Rehabilitation Project involved the construction of a 199 km stretch of National Route 2 (NR2) that runs between Owando and Ouesso and passes through Makoua and Liouesso. The total reported cost of Phase 2 was $260 million and the expected duration of its construction period was 42 months. It was funded and implemented in three sections (segments): a 34 km segment between Moyoye and Liouesso, an 82 km segment between Liouesso and Ouesso, and a 95 km segment between Mambili and Moyoye. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) was the contractor responsible for Phase 2, including all three segments (sections) Phase 2 construction began on May 15, 2012, and ended on July 23, 2015. China Eximbank also financed Phase 1 of the National Route 2 (RN2) Construction Project, which is captured in Project ID#12892 and Project ID#72791

Additional details

1. The French project title is Route N° 2 Liouesso-Ouesso or la Route Nationale N°2 tronçon Liouesso-Ouesso. The Chinese project title is 国家2号公路二期（芒比利-韦索公路) or 国家2号公路Owando-Mambili段翻修及沥青罩面工程. 2. In the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020, it identifies a single $234 million China Eximbank loan for Phase 2 of the National Route 2 (RN2) Construction Project (also known as the Owando-Makoua-Liouesso-Ouesso Highway Project). AidData records the three separate China Eximbank loans for the Moyoye-Liouesso, Liouesso-Ouesso, and Mambili-Moyoye segments of the National Route 2 (RN2) Construction Project that are recorded by the Republic of Congo’s Public Debt Agency (Caisse Congolaise d’Amortissement or CCA) and Délégation Générale des Grands Travaux (DGGT). These three loans are collectively worth $237,288,826.30. All three of these loans were also disclosed by the Congolese authorities to the World Bank and subsequently reportedly by the World Bank in its September 2014 Republic of Congo Economic Update publication.

Number of official sources

6

Number of total sources

8