Bank of China provides EUR 175 million buyer's credit for Cocoa Bean Processing Plant Construction Project

Project narrative

On May 5, 2020, Bank of China and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire signed an EUR 175 million (CFA 114,792,475,000) buyer’s credit loan agreement for the Cocoa Bean Processing Plant Construction Project. The borrowing terms of the Sinosure-backed loan included a 12.5-year maturity, a 2.5-year grace period, an interest rate of 6-month Euribor plus a 2% margin, and a 0.9% commitment fee. The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to partially finance an EUR 190 million (RMB 1.48 billion) commercial (EPC) contract between China Light Industry Design Engineering (CNDC) and Conseil du Café-Cacao, which was signed on December 17, 2019. By December 31, 2023, the loan had achieved a 85.1% disbursement rate (CFA 97,776,950,420 out of CFA 114,792,475,000). Four disbursements took place in 2022 and 2023; a CFA 27,550,194,000 disbursement on January 31, 2022, a CFA 37,389,549,000 disbursement on April 30, 2022, a CFA 14,483,530,560 disbursement on August 31, 2023, and a CFA 18,353,676,860 disbursement on September 30, 2023. The purpose of the project is to construct two Transcao cocoa bean processing plants in Abidjan and San-Pedro, including a cocoa complex located in the PK24 industrial park in northern Abidjan and the Transcao-Seweke cocoa complex in San-Pedro. Each plant is expected to have a capacity of 50,000 tons of beans annually. Along with the plants, two storage warehouses with 300,000 tons capacity are planned to be constructed. After construction, China is planning to absorb 40% of the factories' cocoa production. This project is a part of a goal laid out by the Government of Côte d'Ivoire to process 100% of its cocoa beans by 2025. CNDC, a unit of China Haisum Engineering Co., Ltd. was the EPC contractor responsible for construction of the two plants. The construction for the Abidjan plant officially commenced on September 20, 2020. The construction of the San-Pedro plant officially commenced on October 20, 2022. The project’s originally expected completion date was December 31, 2022. However, it was ultimately completed in February 2025. An official project handover ceremony took place on June 26, 2025.