Chinese Government provides RMB 67.58 million grant for Phase 1 of School Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#40344, #73256, #73257)

On September 26, 2015, the Chinese Government and the Government of Mongolia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) regarding a School Construction Project with three phases. Then, on July 14, 2016, the two government signed letters of exchange, which committed up to RMB 300 million of grant funding for all three phases of the project. Ultimately, RMB 67.58 million of grant funding was committed for Phase 1 (as captured via Project ID#73255); RMB 92.83 million of grant funding was committed for Phase 2 (as captured via Project ID##73256); and RMB 89.79 million of grant funding was committed for Phase 3 (as captured via Project ID#73257). The purpose of the project is to construct 7 new schools — with the capacity to accommodated 5,720 children — in Bayanzurkh, Khan-Uul and Songinokhairkhan districts of Ulaanbaatar and a new kindergarten with the capacity to accommodate 120 children. More specifically, the project sought to construct schools in the 6th khoroo, 25th khoroo, 26th khoroo of Songinokhairkhan district; schools in the 19th khoroo and 15th khoroo of Khan-Uul district; one school (School No. 147) in the 12th khoroo of Bayanzurkh district; and one kindergarten within the Tsetserleg soum and Arkhangai aimag. Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd., IPPR International Engineering Group, and Sixth Design and Research Institute of Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. are the contractors responsible for Phase 1 and 2 project design and implementation. China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC) and IPPR International Engineering Group are the contractors responsible for Phase 3 project design and implementation. A Phase 1 and Phase 2 project implementation agreement was signed on April 14, 2017. Then, a groundbreaking ceremony for Phase 1 and Phase 2 took place on March 27, 2018. Phase 1 was originally expected to reach completion during the second half of 2019 and Phase 2 was originally expected to reach completion in March 2020. However, the Covid-19 pandemic led to the imposition of multiple curfews in 2020, which delayed the implementation of Phase 1 and Phase 2 construction activities. By 2021, the construction of the two Phase 1 schools [the 26th committee of the SHD (СХД-ийн 26-р хороо) and the 25th committee of the SHD (СХД-ийн 25-р хороо)] was complete; the construction of one of the Phase 2 schools (10th Committee of HUD or ХУД-ийн 10-р хороо) had only achieved a 10% completion rate due to land acquisition issues; and the construction of the other Phase 2 schools was complete. A Phase 3 project implementation agreement was signed on January 11, 2018 and a Phase 3 groundbreaking ceremony took place on September 22, 2018. However, the Covid-19 pandemic led to construction delays. As of 2021, the construction of one of the Phase 3 schools (Arkhangai Province Kindergarten or Архангай аймгийн цэцэрлэг) was completed; and the construction of two additional Phase 3 schools [the 6th committee of SHD (СХД-ийн 6-р хороо) and the 15th Committee of HUD (ХУД-ийн 15-р хороо)] had achieved 90% and 95% completion rates, respectively. The originally anticipated implementation end date of the project (including all three phases) was September 1, 2019.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the General School Construction project. The Chinese project title is 援蒙学校项目第一期 or 援蒙古学校一期项目. The Mongolian project title is Ерөнхий боловсролын 7 сургууль, нэг цэцэрлэг or “Ерөнхий боловсролын 7 сургууль, 1 цэцэрлэг барих” or хотынБаянзүрх, Хан-Уул, Сонгинохайрхан дүүргүүдэд нийт 5,720 хүүхдийн багтаамжтай 7сургууль, Архангай аймгийн Цэцэрлэг суманд 120 хүүхдийн багтаамжтай цэцэрлэгийгшинээр барих ажлыг. 2. The Mongolian translation of the grant agreement signed on July 14, 2016 is БНХАУ-ын Засгийн газраас 2014 онд олгосон 300 сая юанийн буцалтгүй тусламжийн хөрөнгөөр хэрэгжүүлэх “Ерөнхий боловсролын 7 сургууль, 1 цэцэрлэг барих” төслийн хүрээнд 3 сургуулийн төслийг эхлүүлэх талаар солилцох захидал. 3. Phase 1 focused on the construction of schools in Songinokhairkhan district and the kindergarten within the Tsetserleg soum and Arkhangai aimag was a focus of Phase 3. However, more investigation will be required to determine each of the schools that were constructed during each phase of the project. 4. Several sources refer to this project as being supported by an RMB 250.2 million grant rather than an RMB 300 million grant. 5. School No. 147 was put into operation in 12th khoroo, Bayanzurkh District on August 29, 2020. It is unclear if this school was supported during Phase 1, Phase 2, or Phase 3. This issue warrants further investigation.

Number of official sources

12

Number of total sources

23