Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In 2017, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and the Government of Zambia signed a $104,009,785.90 buyer’s credit agreement for the Mfuwe International Airport Construction Project. The borrowing terms of the loan are unknown. However, it is known that the borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to partially finance a $120 million commercial contract between Zambia Airports Corporation Ltd (ZACL) and China National Complete Engineering Corporation, which was signed in November 2015. The purpose of the project is to construct Mfuwe International Airport in Eastern Province. More specifically, the project involves the upgrade of an international airport with the construction of a 600 capacity passenger terminal building. It includes the construction of a new air traffic control tower, new rescue fire station, hangars, administrative space, a hotel, a shopping mall, parking and related infrastructure, and the installation of safety and security systems. As of February 2022, AidData had not identified any evidence of project implementation.
Staff comments
1. The Chinese project title is 赞比亚MFUWE机场扩建项目. 2. The ICBC loan that was issued for this project is not included in the the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in July 2020. 3. According to the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS), the weighted average grace period of all ‘private’ sector lending from all Chinese creditors to government and government-guaranteed borrowing institutions in Zambia was 1.6034 years in 2017. AidData estimates the grace period of the ICBC loan that supported the Mfuwe International Airport Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ef7q4y9pxjk6q3syuqmjy/May-2024-DRS-Extraction-of-Data-on-Official-and-Private-Chinese-Loans-to-Iran-and-Borrowing-Terms.xlsx?rlkey=wiqjmhuwunp3jelz3jyfepny8&dl=0 4. According to the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS), the weighted average maturity of all ‘private’ sector lending from all Chinese creditors to government and government-guaranteed borrowing institutions in Zambia was 5.1501 years in 2017. AidData estimates the maturity of the ICBC loan that supported the Mfuwe International Airport Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ef7q4y9pxjk6q3syuqmjy/May-2024-DRS-Extraction-of-Data-on-Official-and-Private-Chinese-Loans-to-Iran-and-Borrowing-Terms.xlsx?rlkey=wiqjmhuwunp3jelz3jyfepny8&dl=0 5. According to the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS), the weighted average interest rate of all ‘private’ sector lending from all Chinese creditors to government and government-guaranteed borrowing institutions in Zambia was 3.6301% in 2017. AidData estimates the interest rate of the ICBC loan that supported the Mfuwe International Airport Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ef7q4y9pxjk6q3syuqmjy/May-2024-DRS-Extraction-of-Data-on-Official-and-Private-Chinese-Loans-to-Iran-and-Borrowing-Terms.xlsx?rlkey=wiqjmhuwunp3jelz3jyfepny8&dl=0