CBMI provides $408 million supplier credit for Ndola Cement Plant Project

On December 4, 2018, CBMI Construction Co., Ltd. (Sinoma) reportedly provided a $408 million supplier credit to Central African Cement Limited (CAC) for the Ndola Cement Plant Project. The terms of this supplier credit (loan) are unknown. Central African Cement Limited (CAC) is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and joint venture of Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines Investment Holdings (ZCCM-IH) and China Machinery Construction Group Limited (SinoConst) that was created in July 2018 to design, finance, and implemented the Ndola Cement Plant Project. ZCCM-IH holds a 35% equity stake and Sinoconst holds a 65% equity stake in CAC. CBMI Construction Co., Limited (Sinoma) signed a $480 million EPC contract with CAC on July 30, 2018 to implement the project. The Ndola Cement Plant Project is located in Ndola within Masaiti District and Copperbelt Province. It involves the construction of a plant with a daily output of 5,000 tonnes of cement and two coal-fired power plants (2X25MW) to provide electricity to the cement plant. According to ZCCM-IH's Chief Executive Officer, Pias Kasolo, the construction of the cement plant was originally scheduled to commence in April 2019. However, as of February 2022, AidData had not yet identified any evidence of project implementation.

Additional details

1. This project is also known as the “CAC 5000 tons per day clinker production line and supporting 7.5 MW waste heat power generation and annual output of 2 million tons of cement powder" project. The Chinese project title is CAC项目 or 赞比亚CAC 5000TPD熟料水泥生产线及配套电厂 or 中非水泥有限公司日产5000吨熟料生产线及配套7.5兆瓦余热发电、年产200万吨水泥粉磨站和2X25兆瓦热电厂项目. 2. One official source indicates that CBMI sought to cover 85% of EPC contract value on a seller’s credit basis (EPC+F). 85% of the $480 million EPC contract value is $408 million. Another official source indicates the CBMI secured an export seller’s credit for this project. 3. A 2021 SAIS-CARI report says “[t]he Central African Cement Limited (CAC) borrowed US$408 million from CBMI Constructions Co Ltd in 2018 for the Ndola Cement Plant in Copperbelt, although there is no evidence that this latter project has moved into implementation. We follow guidelines in the World Bank Debtor Reporting System Manual which do not include joint ventures with minority government ownership in public external debt statistics unless there is a government guarantee, which does not appear to be the case.

Number of official sources

8

Number of total sources

18