China Eximbank provides 219 million RMB government concessional loan for Kigali Municipal Road Reconstruction Project (Linked to Record ID#52329)

Project narrative

On 24 October 2008, the Chinese Ambassador and Rwanda Minister of Finance signed a loan framework agreement for the Kigali Municipal Road Reconstruction Project. Then, on 27 March 2009, China Eximbank and the Rwanda Minister of Finance signed the final government concessional loan agreement (GCL) worth 219 million RMB for this road project. The loan terms are as follows: 20-year maturity, 6-year grace period, 2% interest rate, 1% management fee, and 0.3% commitment fee. It was ratified by the Rwanda legislature on 30 June 2009. This project involved the rehabilitation of nine roads in the city of Kigali with a total length of 36 kilometers. The contractor responsible for project implementation is China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC). The start of construction was delayed due to issues with land appropriation but construction had begun by September 2010. The project was ultimately completed in October 2011. The project is viewed by as a leading example of "urban road hygiene", as described by the director general of Kigali's engineering works during the expansion. The general manager of CRBC's office in Rwanda also reported an excellent safety record, with an injury rate of 0.26 per million worker hours. Years later, China Eximbank provided an additional 488 million RMB loan for expanding 54 km of Kigali roads (see Record ID#52329).