Active Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government pledges to forgive $211 million USD of the Government of Zambia’s outstanding TAZARA debt obligations

¥211M RMB

Funder	Unspecified Chinese Government Institution
Recipient Organization	Government of Zambia
Country	Zambia
Start Date	Nov 01, 2006
End Date	Aug 25, 2033
Duration	9,794 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`2272`

Grant Description

In November 2006 during the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), the Chinese Government pledged to forgive $211 million USD of the Government of Zambia's outstanding debt obligations associated with the Tanzania–Zambia Railway (TAZARA) Construction Project.

In 1967, the Chinese Government provided an RMB 494 million interest-free loan to the Government of Zambia for the construction of the 1860 km Tanzania–Zambia Railway (TAZARA), stretching from Dar‑es‑Salaam to Kapiri Mposhi.

The Government of Zambia was in arrears on this loan at the time that the Chinese Government made its pledge of debt forgiveness in 2006. It is unclear whether the Chinese Government ultimately followed through on its pledge.

📋 Staff Comments

It may have followed through on this pledge captured in project #2305. The Chinese project title is 中国政府同意减免与坦赞铁路相关的部分债务. The Chinese Government first announced that it might provide $250 million of debt forgiveness, but this figure was later revised to $211 million.This project is not marked as umbrella because the original debt is not captured in our dataset, so there is no risk of double counting.

📚 Sources & References

http://global.factiva.com/redir/default.aspx?P=sa&an=AFNWS00020060518e25i001gv&cat=a&ep=ASE
Chinese Give Country $1 Million Materials for Polls, http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=06LUSAKA1627, http://fletcher.tufts.edu/Praxis/~/media/Fletcher/Microsites/praxis/xxvii/2CondonChinaAfrica.pdf
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