Active Development AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $700 million USD loan for Phase II of the Khartoum International Airport Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#85332)

$700K USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of Sudan
Country	Sudan
Start Date	Dec 16, 2014
End Date	Apr 20, 2032
Duration	6,335 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`30543`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $700 million USD loan for Phase II of the Khartoum International Airport Construction Project On 8 July 2013, China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC) and Sudan Airport Holdings Co.

Ltd. (SAHL) signed a Financing and EPC (F+EPC) contract worth $700 million USD for Phase II of the Khartoum International Airport Construction Project.

Then, on 17 January 2014, CHEC signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging to obtain financing from China Eximbank for at least $680 million USD.

Then, on 16 December 2014, China Eximbank and the Sudan Ministry of Finance signed the final concessional loan agreement worth $700 million USD for Phase II.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountreportedly carried the following terms: 20-year maturity

📅 Maturity20 years

⏳ Grace Period5 years

💹 Interest Rate2.5%

The first drawdown of the loan took place in May 2016. The F+EPC contract signed in July 2013 stipulated that CHEC would complete the project within 40 months. The project involves the construction of two 400 meter runways, with a total area of 79 square kilometers.

The project also involves the construction of an international hotel with 300 rooms, a conference center, a business center and a mall of 8,000 square meters. According to the Turkey based construction firm Summa, the project was to be completed in less than 36 months.

Construction was initially set to begin in 2015; however, the implementation was delayed and CHEC was removed from the project for unknown reasons.

According to the Global Construction Review article, Summa, a Turkish company, is now implementing Phase 2 of the project, which began in January 2019.

The China Eximbank loan was almost certainly conditioned on CHEC carrying out the project, so this $700 million USD loan was probably cancelled as well. It is unclear how much was disbursed before cancellation (see Record ID#85332).

📋 Staff Comments

The Chinese project title is 席喀土穆新国际机场项目. The Arabic project title is المرحله الثانية من مشروع مطار الخرطوم الدولي الجديد. It is also called the KNIA Project. The transaction amount is not totally clear. Some sources, both official and unofficial, say the Phase II EPC contract was $700 million USD and others say it was $680 million USD. Some sources say the China Eximbank loan for Phase II was also $700 or $680 million USD. AidData relies on what CHEC and SAHL reported, which is that both were worth $700 million USD. JSB Market Research (see source ID 118873) reported that the January 2014 contract was for phase II as well as 'ongoing preparatory works' for phase I. Moreover, they say that 'In July 2015, the technical committee of the cabinet economic development sector approved the loan agreement of US$700 million for financing the project. Council of Ministers approved loan agreement of US$665 million that was signed between the Ministry of Finance, and the Chinese Export-Import Bank.' JSB also claims that China Eximbank signed a loan agreement for phase III in June 2016. None of this is confirmed by official sources.

📚 Sources & References

Sudan signs contract for new Khartoum airport with Chinese financing
China Harbour Signs $680 Million Deal for Khartoum Airport Work
New Khartoum Airport
THE EPC CONTRACT SIGNING CEREMONY FOR PHASE I OF KHARTOUM NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT PROJECT WAS HELD
China’s Easy Money Flows Abroad as Credit Squeeze Hurts, 'It's almost free money': Chinese banks offer cheap loans abroad
China extends Sudan a $700 million soft loan to help finance the construction of a new airport in the capital
Al Khartoum
Sudan inks $680m Khartoum airport deal
China’s EXIM Bank Funds New Airport In Sudan
China grants Sudan $700m loan to build new Khartoum airport
The loan agreement of Khartoum New International Airport in Sudan was successfully signed
Chinese financing for Sudanese projects slow to materialise
李成文大使出席苏丹喀土穆新机场项目商务合同签字仪式
THE LOAN AGREEMENT ON KHARTOUM NEW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN SUDAN WAS SUCCESSFULLY SIGNED
SIGNING OF AGREEMENT FOR FUNDING KNIA PROJECT
罗小光大使出席喀土穆新国际机场项目EPC合同签字仪式
驻苏丹大使罗小光出席喀土穆新国际机场项目合同签字仪式
China’s Easy Money Flows Abroad as Credit Squeeze Hurts
Who We Are, حسبو يوجه ببداية السحب علي القرض الصيني لتمويل مطار الخرطوم الجديد, المرحله الثانية من مشروع مطار الخرطوم الدولي الجديد, تدشين مطار الخرطوم الدولي الجديد, مطار الخرطوم الجديد
Sudan Signs Deal with Chinese Firm to Build New Airport in Khartoum
Chinese Loans to Africa Database
Summa to begin work on $1.2bn Khartoum Airport next year
China and Conflict-Affected States: Between Principles and Pragmatism (South Sudan Case)
Khartoum New International Airport Sudan Project & Construction Market Research Reports Loan applications and disbursements are still being received and processed as the projects continue to evolve. Ongoing monitoring and evaluation are in place to ensure project continuity.