Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
On November 8, 2019, China Eximbank and the Government of Côte d'Ivoire signed a $207,923,133.20 (CFA 124,575,720,094.18) buyer’s credit loan (BCL) agreement for the Vocational Training Institute Construction Project. The borrowing terms of this loan are unknown. However, it is known that the borrower is expected to use the proceeds of the loan to finance 85% of the cost of a $244,264,542.56 (CFA 146,559,670 642.18) commercial contract (ID# AIPEC/CIZ/16M1096) between AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Company and Government of Côte d'Ivoire, which was signed on December 29, 2017. It is also known that the borrower purchased export buyer’s credit insurance from Sinosure. According to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire’s Aid Management Platform (AMP), the China Eximbank loan had achieved a 48.8% disbursement rate (CFA 60,852,271,948 out of CFA 124,575,720,094.18) as of December 31, 2023. China Eximbank made eight loan disbursements worth CFA 60,852,271,948 in 2021, 2022, and 2023: a CFA 25,328,655,081 loan disbursement on March 31, 2021, a CFA 24,826,651,143 loan disbursement on August 31, 2022, a CFA 3,236,780,204 disbursement on April 30, 2023, a CFA 2,459,390,794 disbursement on May 31, 2023, a CFA 722,105,951 disbursement on June 30, 2023, a CFA 1,392,018,079 disbursement on August 31, 2023, a CFA 887,352,429 disbursement on November 30, 2023, a CFA 1,999,318,267 disbursement on December 31, 2023, a CFA 4,621,655,054 disbursement on March 31, 2024 and a CFA 2,687,281,338 disbursement on July 31, 2024. The purpose of the project is to design and construct 7 vocational training centers: the City of Professional Training of Abobo (La Cité de la Formation Professionnelle d'Abobo); the Yamoussoukro Vocational High School (Le Lycée professionnel de yamoussoukro); the multisectoral center of Korhogo (Le centre multisectoriel de Korhogo); the Gbéléban vocational training center (Le centre de formation professionnelle de Gbéléban); the professional training center of Tiébissou (Le centre de formation professionnelle de Tiébissou); the multisectoral center of Bouaké (Le centre multisectoriel de Bouaké); and Kong Vocational High School (Le Lycée professionnel de Kong). The project also involves a ‘training of the trainers’ component to assist with the operations and maintenance of the 7 centers. AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Company is the contractor responsible for project implementation. A foundation stone laying ceremony took place on January 24, 2022. Construction of the Gbéléban vocational training center (Le centre de formation professionnelle de Gbéléban) in the Denguélé region commenced on August 9, 2022; construction of the Kongo and Berebon vocational training centers in northern Côte d'Ivoire had commenced as of September 20, 2022. Then, on April 13, 2023, the Minister of Technical Education, Vocational Training and Apprenticeship, N'Guessan Koffi, visited the future site of vocational training center in Yamoussoukro. According to the AMP, the project’s originally expected completion date was December 31, 2026. However, the 7 vocational training centers were originally scheduled to open in January 2025. This project has encountered several implementation obstacles. The cost (CFA 1,728,888,540) of connecting the 7 vocational centers to electricity and water supply (CIE and SODECI) networks was not included in the project cost estimate. However, the Ivorian Ministry of Finance and Budget (MFB) provided an additional CFA 1,728,888,540 on November 11, 2024 for this purpose. Another implementation obstacle was the Ivorian Government's non-compliance with the counterpart payment (contribution) schedule in accordance with the terms and conditions in the China Eximbank loan agreement, which stipulates the loan disbursements are conditional upon the Ivorian Government meeting its counterpart contribution requirements.
Staff comments
1. The French project title is Projet de construction de 7 établissements de formation professionnelle_ AVIC _Crédit acheteur or Construction et Equipement de (07) Etablissements de Formation Professionnelle. The Chinese project title is 科特迪瓦职业培训学校项目. 2. The system identification number for this project in the Government of Côte d'Ivoire’s Aid Management Platform (AMP) is 1120071327489. The AMP project code is 78098001143. 3. This China Eximbank loan 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 commercial contract can be accessed in its entirety via https://www.dropbox.com/s/quz9mtrffo3u4vg/1_Contrat%20du%20projet%20d%C3%A9finitif%20sign%C3%A9%20par%20trois%20parties-20171229.pdf?dl=0. 5. The AMP identifies the loan commitment date as November 8, 2019. However, there are some indications that the loan agreement may have been finalized as late as 2021. This issue warrants further investigation. 6. This loan appears to be classified in the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS) as a loan issued by a 'private' creditor in China, which suggests that it may have been issued as a syndicated loan by China Eximbank and a Chinese state-owned commercial bank. This issue warrants further investigation. 7. 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 Côte d'Ivoire was 2.5 years in 2019. AidData estimates the grace period of the loan that supported the Vocational Training Institute Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i7f56vi0ix8drznpbaczg/Weighted-average-borrowing-terms-from-Chinese-Lenders-to-Ivory-Coast-April-2024-IDS-Data-Extraction.xlsx?rlkey=0uj6y8don6vdg39v28f1y4nwz&dl=0 8. 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 Côte d'Ivoire was 14.9999 years in 2019. AidData estimates the maturity of the loan that supported the Vocational Training Institute Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i7f56vi0ix8drznpbaczg/Weighted-average-borrowing-terms-from-Chinese-Lenders-to-Ivory-Coast-April-2024-IDS-Data-Extraction.xlsx?rlkey=0uj6y8don6vdg39v28f1y4nwz&dl=0 9. 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 Côte d'Ivoire was 2.7% in 2019. AidData estimates the interest rate of the loan that supported the Vocational Training Institute Construction Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/i7f56vi0ix8drznpbaczg/Weighted-average-borrowing-terms-from-Chinese-Lenders-to-Ivory-Coast-April-2024-IDS-Data-Extraction.xlsx?rlkey=0uj6y8don6vdg39v28f1y4nwz&dl=0