Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government donates sports equipment worth RMB 59.2 million

¥59.23M RMB

Funder	China Ministry of Commerce
Recipient Organization	Government of Ecuador
Country	Ecuador
Start Date	Jan 01, 2004
End Date	Jul 31, 2026
Duration	8,247 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`37812`

Grant Description

On August 16, 2004, the Chinese Government and the Government of Ecuador signed Letters of Exchange for the acquisition of 2,000 pieces of sporting equipment, which would in turn be distributed to primary and secondary schools around the country.

According to the country’s official register (Registero Oficial), the monetary value of the donation was RMB 59,230,000.

Of this total cost, 20 million RMB was funded by the entire value of the Economic and Technical Cooperation Agreement (ETCA) additionally singed on August 16, 2004.

The remaining 39.23 million RMB was funded through two ETCAs signed on March 20, 2002 and August 26, 2003, as well as a grant provided through Letters of Exchange signed November 28, 2002. On November 16, 2005, the sports equipment arrived in the Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador.

China's Ambassador to Ecuador Liu Yuqin and Ecuador's Minister of Sports José Francisco Cevallos signed the handover agreement. The equipment was slated for distribution to primary and secondary schools in Ecuador on November 24, 2005. However, this project was plagued by controversy and allegations of corruption.

The Ecuadorian President’s brother (Gilmar Gutiérrez) was ultimately dismissed from his position in the Congress (as a Deputy) for allegedly embezzling Chinese Government funds that were earmarked for the acquisition of sports equipment.

📋 Staff Comments

The ETCAs signed March 20, 2002 and August 26, 2003, as well as the Letters of Exchange signed November 28, 2002, are captured separately as umbrella projects because it is unclear which of the three agreements funded (an) additional subproject(s). In total, the amount available between the three grants is 39.58 million RMB (25 million + 10 million + 4.58 million). However, these three grants only provided 39.23 million RMB to this project. 39.58 million - 39.23 million = 350,000 RMB. This indicates one of these three grants funded (an) additional subproject(s), unaccounted for in this database, worth 350,000 RMB.The ETCA signed August 16, 2004 should not be coded as a separate umbrella project because the full grant amount provided through the agreement (20 million RMB) is accounted for and was used exclusively to fund this project.

📚 Sources & References

刘玉琴大使出席中国政府向厄瓜多尔捐赠体育器材的交接仪式
Chinese government to provide 2,000 sets of sports equipment to primary and secondary schools in Ecuador
Aid for Ecuador's first sports equipment transfer certificate signed in Quito
Gilmar Gutiérrez quedó fuera del Congreso
Pleno del Parlamento juzga hoy al diputado Gilmar Gutiérrez, 2005 Registero Oficial
我向厄瓜多尔体育部赠送体育器材项目签署交接证书 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.