ICBC provides EUR 387.4 million buyer's credit for Ferkéssédougou Dry Port Construction Project

Project narrative

On August 31, 2018, Cote d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara and Chinese President Xi Jinping signed an MOU regarding the Ferkéssédougou Dry Port Construction Project. Then, on September 6, 2018, Liu-Yan, President of China National Complete Plant Import Export Corporation (COMPLANT) and Ally Coulibaly, Cote d’Ivoire’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, signed a protocol to mobilize CFA 262 billion (EUR 399.4 million or USD 473.4 million) for the Ferkessédougou Dry Port Construction Project. On January 30, 2020, ICBC and the Government of Cote d’Ivoire signed an EUR 387, 481, 974 (CFA 254,171,513,219.12) buyer's credit loan agreement for the Ferkéssédougou Dry Port Construction Project. The borrowing terms of the Sinosure-backed loan include a 15-year maturity, a 3-year grace period, a 2.7% interest rate, and a 0.5% commitment fee. The borrower is expected to use the proceeds of the loan to partially finance a CFA 254,171,513,995 commercial (EPC) contract (for Lot 1) between the Government of Cote d’Ivoire and China National Complete Plant Import Export Corporation (COMPLANT), which was signed on May 22, 2019. According to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire’s Aid Management Platform (AMP), the ICBC had still not made any disbursements as of February 29, 2024. However, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire met its CFA 46,600,000,000 counterpart funding obligations between 2020 and 2023 (making disbursements worth CFA 26,600,000,000 on December 31, 2020, CFA 15,248,687,947 on December 31,2022 and CFA 7,522,738,982 on December 31, 2023). The project is divided into two ‘lots’. Lot 1 involves site remediation and development activities as well as the construction of a (multimodal) logistics platform — with warehouses, cold chain equipment, etc. — and hydrocarbon depot. Lot 2 involves the construction of a slaughterhouse, a cattle market, and an industrial zone for the development and processing of agricultural and mining products. The project site is spread over an area of 3185 hectares and located in the village of Dékovogo, approximately 5 km from the capital of Tchologo and near the northern city of Ferkéssédougou. Upon completion, the dry port of Ferkéssédougou is expected to relieve congestion and bring the autonomous port of Abidjan closer to its regional partners such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. It is also expected to make a lasting contribution to the development of the northern regions of the country and to the enhancement of the economic potential of the Poro, Tchologo, and Bagoué regions in Savanes District, and Bounkani, and Gontougo regions in Zanzan district. The project is also expected to generate more than 71,000 direct jobs that will directly benefit young men and women. Lot 2 is being financed and implemented on a public-private partnership (PPP) basis. Lot 1, which is spread over an area of 732 hectares, is not. COMPLANT is the contractor responsible for the implementation of Lot 1. A foundation-laying ceremony took place on May 21, 2021. However, according to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire’s Aid Management Platform (AMP), this project faced implementation delays due to resource mobilization problems related to the host government’s counterpart financing contribution and the credit insurance policy with Sinosure. Then, in December 2022, the Government of Cote d’Ivoire partially met its counterpart financing commitment (by providing CFA 26 billion out of CFA 46.6 billion). The Government of Cote d’Ivoire had fully met its counterpart financing commitment (by providing CFA 49.3 billion out of CFA 46.6 billion) as of December 31, 2023. Lot 1 was originally expected to take 30 months to complete (November 21, 2023). The project as a whole (Lots 1 and 2) was originally expected to reach completion on December 31, 2025.