Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $199 million preferential buyer's credit for 88MW Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station Project

$199M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of Laos
Country	Lao People's Democratic Republic
Start Date	Aug 12, 2009
End Date	Feb 24, 2030
Duration	7,501 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`33816`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $199 million preferential buyer's credit for 88MW Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station Project On August 12, 2009, China Gezhouba Group Company Ltd. (CGGC) and Electricité du Laos (EDL) — a state-owned power company in Laos — signed a $206,261,750 commercial (EPC) contract for 88MW Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station Project.

China Eximbank and the Government of Laos signed a $199 million preferential buyer's credit (PBC) agreement to partially finance this EPC contract and project.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

📅 Maturity15 years

⏳ Grace Period5 years

💹 Interest Rate2%

The purpose of the project was to construct a 88MW hydropower station on the Houay Lamphan Gnai river — near Kafe village within Thataeng district and Sekong (Xekong) Province — to improve power supply and satisfy demand for electricity.

The dam that supports the hydropower station is a rock-filled dam with a clay core and a maximum reservoir of 140,000,000m³. CGGC was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. Construction started on November 8, 2010. A dam impoundment ceremony was held on October 20, 2014. A project completion ceremony was held on November 14, 2015.

There are multiple indications that the China Eximbank loan for this project may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender. In 2020, the Laotian authorities urgently sought debt relief from China Eximbank.

At that time, the gross reserves of the Bank of Laos stood at only 1.5 months of import cover and credit rating agencies warned of a high default probability.

In 2020, China Eximbank also agreed to reprofile multiple loan agreements that it had previously signed with the Government of Laos (as captured via Record ID#96464).

These debt service payment deferrals lasted for approximately 4-years (2020 and 2023) and provided approximately $1.892 billion of cash flow relief ($1.422 billion in deferred principal payments and $470 million in deferred interest payments). Deferred principal and interest repayments in 2020 were worth $202 million.

Deferred principal and interest payments were worth $426 million in 2021. Deferred principal and interest payments were worth $594 million in 2022. Deferred principal and interest payments were worth $670 million in 2023.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the 88MW Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Project.
The Chinese project title is 老挝会兰庞雅水电站举 or 会兰庞雅水电站项目.
In the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020, it identifies the face value of the loan that supported this project as $206 million. However, this estimate appears to be based on the EPC contract value and China Eximbank reports that it only partially financed the EPC contract (with a $199 million loan).
On April 21, 2014, CGGC signed an EPC contract with Laos Houay Lamphan Gnai Downstream Hydropower Power Generation Company for the Houay Lamphan Gnai ‘downstream hydropower project’ in Vientiane. This appears to be a separate project with separate financing, but this issue merits further investigation.

📚 Sources & References

Gezhouba wins $247 mln in power construction contracts in Laos
Unit 1 rotor of Lao Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station hoisted
Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station comes into impoundment
Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Project Progress by 2014
CHINA SECURITIES JOURNAL
中国能建承建老挝会兰庞雅水电站下闸蓄水
老挝副总理考察会兰庞雅水电站
中国葛洲坝集团承建老挝会兰庞雅水电站下闸蓄水
中企承建老挝会兰庞雅下游水电站开工
Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station comes into impoundment
Standing Deputy Prime Minister of Laos visits CGGC Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station in Laos
Plant installation of Lao Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station succeeds
Lao Prime Minister inspects Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station Project
葛洲坝集团承建老挝会兰庞雅水电站竣工
HOUAY LAMPHAN GNAI HYDROPOWER PLANT
Laos' Xekong dam set to power up this week
Lao Electric Power Department and relevant corporation send 'Thank-you' letter to CGGC, the Preparatory Survey on Xe Katam Hydropower Plant Project in LAO P.D.R
Reconnect Asia Houay Lamphan Gnai, 2016 White Paper on Green Finance The Export-Import Bank of China
Houay Lamphan Gnai Hydropower Station in Laos completed in advance
Houay Lamphan Gnai hydropower plant launches operation, 《中国金融》胡晓炼：政策性金融服务“一带一路”的优势
中国进出口银行绿色金融白皮书 2016 White Paper on Green Finance The Export-Import Bank of China
老挝今日要闻11.16
Lao Electric Power Department and relevant corporation send 'Thank-you' letter to CGGC
葛洲坝集团中标老挝2.47亿美元两项目
Export-Import Bank on the 'Belt and Road'
Completion ceremony of China-loaned Laos Houay Lamphan Gnai water and electricity station was held
老挝会兰庞雅水电站举行竣工发电仪式
我优买资金支持的老挝会兰庞雅水电站举行竣工发电仪式
老挝会兰庞雅水电站EPC项目管理纪实
进出口银行融资支持老挝占巴色省怀博莱水电站项目
China Overseas Development Finance
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY of Houay Lam Phanh Gnai HPP 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.