ICBC provides $60 million buyer’s credit loan for 50MW Lomaum Hydroelectric Power Plant Rehabilitation and Modernization Project (Linked to Project ID#67323)

In 2010, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) reportedly signed a $60 million buyer's credit loan (BCL) agreement with the Government of Angola for the 50MW Lomaum Hydroelectric Power Plant Rehabilitation and Modernization Project. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. Lomaum hydroelectric dam is located on the Catumbela river about 200 kilometers southeast of the city of Benguela. The dam was first constructed in 1959, but it stopped working in 1984 as a result of the country’s civil war. Therefore, this project aimed to update the hydroelectric power plant and expand the dam to 20 meters high and 250 meters long. The purpose of the project was to improve power supply to 92,000 residents of four coastal cities — Benguela, Lobito, Catumbela and Baía Farta — in Cubal within Benguela province. Guangxi Hydroelectric Construction Bureau Angola and Kanazuro Electric Company were jointly responsible for the implementation. The power restoration/modernization project started in 2009. The dam resumed commercial production on an experimental basis in June 2015, following restoration and modernization works, supplying electricity to domestic and industrial customers at low and medium voltage. The dam was officially reopened on 4 February 2016. In 2013, ICBC provided a $51 million loan for the Lomaum Electricity Transmission Line Construction Project, which evacuated power from the Lomaum Hydroelectric Power Plant (see Project #67323).

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