ICBC provides $262.8 million loan for Easama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasama-Kayambi Transmission Lines and Substations Project

On January 2, 2018, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited and Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation Limited (ZESCO) Limited — a state-owned power company in Zambia — signed a $262,877,663.11 term loan facility agreement for the Easama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasama-Kayambi Transmission Lines and Substations Project. The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance 85% of the cost of a $288 million commercial (EPC) contract between ZESCO and TBEA Co., Ltd.. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. However, it is known that the purpose of the project is the design, development, manufacturing, construction, testing, delivery, installation, completion and commissioning of the Easama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasama-Kayambi transmission lines and substations. State Nuclear Electric Power Planning Design and Research Institute Company Limited and TBEA Shenyang Electric Power Design Institute Company Limited are the contractors responsible for project design. TBEA is the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. As of February 2022, AidData had not yet identified any evidence of project implementation.

Additional details

1. The project is also known as the Nakonde and Kasama Electricity Transmission Project and the 330 kV Kasama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasamai-Kayambi Power Transmission and Substations Project. The Chinese project title is 赞比亚330kV输变电工程. 2. Some sources refer to a $70 million Kasama-Nakonde 330-kV Transmission Line Project, which appears to be one of three subcomponents of the Kasama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasamai-Kayambi Power Transmission and Substations Project. 3. This project is part of the larger Zambia-Tanzania Interconnection Project. 4. The ICBC loan that was issued for this project is not included in the the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020. 5. In 2018, Blackhall’s Laws of Zambia (revised edition of the laws of Zambia containing primary and secondary legislation) published the following information on its website (https://zambialaws.com/): ‘US$262,877,663.11 term loan facility agreement for Zesco Limited as borrower dated 2nd January, 2018, arranged by Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited, acting as Agent, and the Financial Institutions named in the Agreement, as lenders, for financing of the design, development, manufacturing, construction, testing, delivery, installation, completion and commissioning of (or the equipment of) the Easama-Nakonde, Kasama-Mporokoso and Kasama-Kayambi Transmission Lines, and substations in the Republic of Zambia.’ See https://www.zambialaws.com/Zambia2018Pdfsi/SI%2079%20of%202018.pdf 6. More details on construction plans can be found in Source ID#153091.

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

21