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China Eximbank provides $396.1 million preferential buyer’s credit for El Mutún Steel Complex Project
| Funder | Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank) |
|---|---|
| Recipient Organization | Government of Bolivia |
| Country | Bolivia |
| Start Date | Dec 31, 2017 |
| End Date | Aug 05, 2028 |
| Duration | 3,870 days |
| Number of Grantees | 1 |
| Roles | Recipient |
| Data Source | AidData Chinese Aid |
| Grant ID | 55410 |
Grant Description
China Eximbank provides $396.1 million preferential buyer’s credit for El Mutún Steel Complex Project On December 31, 2017, China Eximbank and the Government Bolivia signed a $396,134,000 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement [China Eximbank PBC 2017 (31) 457] for the El Mutún Steel Complex Project.
The loan agreement was officially approved by the Government of Bolivia on January 24, 2018.
The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the PBC to finance approximately 85% of the cost of a $450 million commercial contract between Sinosteel and Mutún Steel Company (Empresa Siderurgica del Mutún (ESM), which was signed in March 2016. The lender made no disbursements in 2017.
It made disbursements worth $56,607,450 in 2018, $31,481,314 in 2019, $20,161,857 in 2020, $88,088,764 in 2021, $99,362,568 in 2022, and $31,502,319 in 2023. The borrower made no principal repayments between 2017 and 2022.
However, it paid interest and/or fees worth $0 in 2017, $1,980,670 in 2018, $2,069,663 in 2019, an unknown amount in 2020, $4,305,773 in 2021, $6,431,638 in 2022, and $8,974,801 in 2023.
The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was $0 as of December 31, 2017, $56,607,450 as of December 31, 2018, $88,088,764 as of December 31, 2019, $108,250,621 as of December 31, 2020, $196,339,385 as of December 31, 2021, $295,701,953 as of December 31, 2022, and $327,204,273 as of December 31, 2023.
The El Mutún Steel Plant Project sought to construct and develop the steelmaking facilities near the El Mutún Ore Mine (19.1903° S, 57.8839° W) in the German Busch Province of Bolivia in the Santa Cruz Department, increasing Bolivia’s steelmaking capabilities.
The project consisted of the construction of an iron ore concentration plant (with a capacity of 650,000 metric tons per year), a pelletizing plant, and a direct reduction plant (with a capacity of 250,000 metric tons per year), and a steelworks with a continuous caster and rolling mill (with a capacity of 150,000 metric tons per year).
Sinosteel and Mutún Steel Company (Empresa Siderurgica del Mutún (ESM) — a Bolivian state-owned company that explores and mines iron ore, and manufactures steel — were jointly responsible for project implementation. A technical evaluation was completed in April 2017 by a consulting company hired by Sinosteel.
However, the implementation of the project was delayed until January 2019 after ESM provided a down payment to Sinosteel following the first disbursement from China Eximbank. Sinosteel began construction on January 29, 2019. The construction was halted in January 2020, and was then 're-routed' in November 2020.
As of March 2023, the project had achieved a 69% completion rate, and the plant expected to operate at 100% capacity by 2024. According to CEO Jorge Alvarado Rivas, the assembly of the plant was completed in June 2023. The El Mutún Steel Complex was officially inaugurated on February 24, 2025.
Staff Comments
- The Spanish project title is El Proyecto Planta Siderúrgica del Mutún.
- One official source (https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjdt_665385/2649_665393/201904/t20190427_679564.html) suggests that the loan agreement was signed or amended in April 2019. This issue warrants further investigation.
- According to the OECD, construction was delayed in the summer of 2020 due to 'a problem of forged data' and 'issues related to over-spending.' However, the source the OECD publication is relying on is no longer available. This issue warrants further investigation.
Sources & References
- 2017 MOFCOM Bolivia China
- Decreto Supremo 3468_2
- Bolivia: Decreto Supremo Nº 3468, 24 de enero de 2018
- Decreto Supremo 3468_1
- 驻玻利维亚大使梁宇同莫拉莱斯总统共同出席穆通钢厂开工仪式
- 驻玻利维亚使馆临时代办李建英出席批准穆通钢厂项目贷款协议法令签署颁布仪式
- Presidenta Montaño: Con la aprobación del proyecto del Mutún Bolivia ingresa a la era siderúrgica
- Ley Nº 1038, 4 de abril de 2018
- Latest Developments in Steelmaking Capacity
- List of Deliverables of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation
- SINOSTEEL 2017 Report
- 进出口银行融资支持玻利维亚穆通铁矿钢铁厂项目开工建设
- INFORME DE LA DEUDA PÚBLICA EXTERNA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2021
- INFORME de la DEUDA EXTERNA PÚBLICA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2019
- Informe de la Deuda Externa Publica al 31 de diciembre de 2016
- Sinosteel gets $400 mln Bolivian mining, steel making contract
- Bolivia secures additional El Mutún funding
- China-Latin America Relations: How Governments are playing it
- Morales promulga ley de crédito chino de 396 millones de dólares para industrializar hierro en Bolivia
- Senado asigna fondos para Mutún
- Mutún: ¿Despertará el gigante dormido?
- El Mutun Steel Plants
- Bolivian economy grows in Q1 thanks to mining
- Bolivia's Mutun steel plant advances, technical evaluation done
- Sinosteel expected to start work at Bolivia's El Mutún in Q1
- Bolivia allocates funding to long-delayed El Mutún
- Bolivia's El Mutun steel and iron ore complex project now 46% complete
- China-Latin America Finance Database
- INFORME de la DEUDA EXTERNA PÚBLICA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2017
- INFORME de la DEUDA EXTERNA PÚBLICA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2018
- El Mutún's iron industrialization project reactivated for delivery in 2023
- Bolivia: Mutun steel complex is 5.5% finished
- Planta Mutún tiene avance del 69% y la deuda a China se pagará desde 2024
- INFORME DE LA DEUDA PÚBLICA EXTERNA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2022
- Bolivia inaugurates steel plant built with Chinese loan
- Comisión legislativa encontró falencias ambientales en el proyecto Mutún
- Gobernación cruceña advierte que la gran demanda de agua que requiere el Mutún, impactará en los afluentes de la región
- Inauguración del Mutún genera críticas por presuntas falencias en su construcción
- Mutún, otro capítulo de la falsa industrialización
- Inauguración de Planta Siderúrgica del Mutún es una nueva propaganda política del Gobierno
- INFORME de la DEUDAEXTERNA PÚBLICA AL 30 DE JUNIO DE 2023
- INFORME DE LA DEUDA PÚBLICA EXTERNA AL 31 DE DICIEMBRE DE 2023 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.
All Grantees
Government of Bolivia
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