China Eximbank provides $261 million buyer’s credit loan for 88.6 km Micomeseng-Bongoro Highway Construction Project (Linked to Project ID#484)

In 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a $2 billion oil-backed buyer’s credit facility agreement for various infrastructure projects (captured via Project ID#484). All subsidiary loans approved under this facility agreement carry the following terms: a 5.5% interest rate, a 5 year maturity, and a 2 year grace period. Then, in November 2017, China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a $261,068,174.65 subsidiary buyer’s credit loan agreement for the 88.6 km Micomeseng-Bongoro Highway Construction Project. The proceeds of the loan were used by the borrower to finance a commercial contract between the Government of Equatorial Guinea and China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which was signed in September 2015. According to the Autonomous Fund for Amortization of Public Debt (Caja Autónoma de Amortización de la Deuda Pública) within Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Finance and Budget, as of December 31, 2019, the China Eximbank buyer’s credit loan for the project had disbursed $220,259,811.36 and the borrower had made principal ($70,302,544.00) and interest ($16,076,500.44) repayments worth $86,379,044.44 as of December 31, 2019. The purpose of the project is to construct an 88.6 km highway between the two cities of Micomeseng and Bongoro. The two-lane asphalt highway runs along Equatorial Guinea’s border with Cameroon. Upon completion, the road was expected to reduce travel times between Micomeseng and Bongoro by 40%. Construction began in August 2016. Then, on December 15, 2018, China’s Ambassador to Equatorial Guinea conducted a project site inspection. The project was originally expected to reach completion during the second half of 2019. However, as of 2020, the project had only achieved a 98% completion rate. The project passed final inspection and was accepted by the project owner (Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Urban Planning) on September 2, 2022.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Micomeseng-Ebibeyin Asphalt Road Construction Project. The Chinese project title is 项目米伯公路（88.6公里）or 的米科梅森—伯戈洛公路项目. The Spanish project title is Carreterra Micomeseng - Bongoro or Construcción del Tramo de Carretera Micomeseng-Bongoro de 88.6 Km or Construcción del Tramo de Carretera Micomeseng-Bongoro de 94 Km. 2. A 2021 document from the President's Office suggests that the construction and supervision of the project were funded separately. 3. According to the Autonomous Fund for Amortization of Public Debt (Caja Autónoma de Amortización de la Deuda Pública) within Equatorial Guinea’s Ministry of Finance and Budget, this is a subsidiary buyer’s credit loan under the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s $2 billion oil-backed buyer’s credit facility agreement. As such, AidData applies all of the borrowing terms from the $2 billion oil-backed buyer’s credit facility agreement (captured via Project ID#484) to the China Eximbank loan for the 88.6 km Micomeseng-Bongoro Highway Construction Project.

Number of official sources

13

Number of total sources

19