China Eximbank provides RMB 2.564 billion government concessional loan for Malabo City Water Supply Project

On December 13, 2019, the Chinese Government and the Government of Equatorial Guinea signed a preferential loan framework agreement for the Malabo City Water Supply Project. China Eximbank and the Government of Equatorial Guinea subsequently signed a government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Malabo City Water Supply Project. The estimated face value of the GCL is RMB 2.564 billion. The borrowing terms of the GCL are unknown. However, it is known that the proceeds of the GCL are to be used by the borrower to finance a $390 million (RMB 2.564 billion) commercial contract between the Government of Equatorial Guinea and Gezhuoba Group Co. Ltd. (CGGC), which was signed in April 2016. The original purpose of the project was to construct an urban water supply and pipe network in the city of Malabo. CGGC is the contractor responsible for implementation. However, the Malabo City Water Supply Project has faced multiple delays and setbacks. The COVID-19 pandemic slowed implementation in 2020 and 2021. Then, In January 2023, Vice President Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangué summoned representatives from the Equatorial Guinea's Ministries of Public Works and Finance, as well as Geproyectos and CGGC, to discuss the importance of expediting project implementation; he also floated the idea of expanding the scope of the project to provide nationwide access to clean drinking water. Then, in March 2023, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangué suggested rescoping the project to include electricity and water supply components. AidData had not identified any evidence of project implementation as of June 2023.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the Malabo Urban Water Supply and Pipe Network Project. The Chinese project title is 马拉博城市供水项目 or 赤道几内亚马拉博供水及管网项目. The Spanish project title is el proyecto de abastecimiento de agua y red de tuberías de Malabo. 2. This source (https://ahoraeg.com/politica/2020/05/25/entrevista-a-la-embajadora-de-china-en-guinea-ecuatorial/) indicates that a China Eximbank loan agreement was finalized. However, the precise date on which the loan agreement was signed is unknown. This issue warrants further investigation. 3. The China Eximbank loan for the Malabo City Water Supply Project is not included in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020. Nor is it included it in the China’s Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 4. The face value of the GCL is not explicitly identified by any sources. However, given that GCLs from China Eximbank are generally used by borrowers to finance 100% of the cost of an underlying commercial contract, AidData relies on the value of the April 2016 commercial contract with CGGC to estimate the face value of the GCL.

Number of official sources

16

Number of total sources

22