China Eximbank provides RMB 198.4 million government concessional loan for Rwanda Smart Education Project

Project narrative

On December 16, 2021, the Chinese Government and the Government of Rwanda signed a preferential loan framework agreement for the Rwanda Smart Education Project. Then, on February 22, 2022, China Eximbank and the Government of Rwanda signed an RMB 198,498,000 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK GCL NO. 2021 (46) TOTAL NO. (746)] for the Rwanda Smart Education Project. The GCL carries the following borrowing terms: a 20-year maturity, a 6.5-year grace period, a 2% interest rate, a 0% default (penalty) interest rate, a 0.25% commitment fee, and a 0.25% management fee. The borrower is expected to use loan proceeds to finance a $30,000,000 commercial contract (number 0Y06462000000E) between the Ministry of Education of Rwanda and Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., which was signed on November 11, 2020 and amended on August 16, 2021. The project will seek to build a dedicated education network connecting 63 higher education institutions and 1,437 primary and secondary schools as well as expand the education data center for Rwanda, and will also build campus networks for 1437 primary and secondary schools. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. is the contractor responsible for project implementation. On March 26, 2024, the Ministry of Education launched the Rwanda Smart Education Network at the University of Rwanda's Gikondo campus. As of November 2024, the project had connected 1,260 out of the 1,500 sites (84%), 114 out of 120 aggregation sites (95%), and 2,133 out of the goal of 2,180 kilometers of fibre coverage (98%).