ICBC pledges ultimately unapproved funding for sewage system infrastructure

On July 21, 2014, the Barbados Water Authority (BWA) received a pledge from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC). The pledge specified that the bank would provide a $200 million BDS loan for the construction of a sewage plant on the west coast, an upgrade to the plant on the south coast, and an update to sewage infrastructure in Bridgetown following problems with the South Coast Sewerage System, according to the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) leader in 2016. However, because the Barbadian Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs decided to decline to approve the loan, the proposal became invalid in 2015 and funding was not acquired, also according to the 2016 BLP leader per Barbados Today. Official sources confirm that the BWA was in contact with the Chinese Government to try and acquire financing from the Chinese Export-Import Bank as early as 2014 and that a loan had not been finalized as of 2016. However, the 2016 Auditor General's report noted that approval from the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs for a loan was still being awaited, indicating the funds were still a possibility in 2016. There is no evidence that funding for this project from Chinese official institutions was ultimately acquired.

Additional details

Barbados was not ODA-eligible in 2014.

Number of official sources

2

Number of total sources

3