Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $51 million for the Digital Migration TV Project

$51M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of South Sudan
Country	South Sudan
Start Date	Jan 01, 2013
End Date	Apr 07, 2033
Duration	7,401 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`58514`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $51 million for the Digital Migration TV Project In 2013, China Eximbank provided a $51 million loan to the Government of South Sudan for the Digital Migration TV Project.

The purpose of this project was to help South Sudan migrate from analog to digital communication systems (also known as the Digital Migration TV Project). ZTE was the contractor selected to implement this project.

The $51 million USD loan was expected to only be an initial loan, with more funding to follow as the project progressed.

Construction began in 2013, but within a short span of time, the Digital Migration TV Project was temporarily suspended due to the outbreak of violence in South Sudan.

According to a string of public disclosed emails and letters between Government of South Sudan officials, China Eximbank and Huawei, on October 2, 2014, an employee at Huawei (one of ZTE's competitors) pretended to be the South Sudanese Minister of Information and Broadcasting and requested that the loan be suspended until a new contractor was selected at a more reasonable price, in an apparent attempt to sabotage ZTE and the project.

The employee also allegedly hacked Government of South Sudan e-mail addresses and falsified and forged documents on behalf of the senior Government of South Sudan officials.

The forged letter from the Huawei employee said that the Government of South Sudan investigated the cost of the project and discovered that the $51 million cost of the project was severely inflated for the transition from analog to digital communication systems and that the true price of the project should have been around $20 million.

South Sudan’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also accused the Huawei employee of forging a letter to the President of the Eximbank of China under his name.

On October 22, 2014, Huawei acknowledged that one of its staff members engaged in these behaviors and that he was now subject to an internal investigation. The Digital Migration TV project was eventually completed by ZTE at an unknown date.

📋 Staff Comments

AidData was not able to find a record of a follow-on loan. The terms and conditions of the initial loan are also unknown. AidData also notes that this loan is omitted from the SAIS-CARI database of Chinese loan commitments that was released in July 2020.

📚 Sources & References

postpone the funding of the digital tv projects of South Sudan
Republic of South Sudan
Preliminary Feedback for inappropriate email incident
Report on over competition behaviors and irregular contract in ICT market
南苏丹基础设施领域欢迎中国投资
China's Business and Politics in South Sudan
S. Sudan says it will not expel Chinese company officials
South Sudan welcomes Chinese investment in infrastructure
South Sudan probes Chinese firm amid hacking allegations
A Transactional Risk Profile of Huawei
Huawei Apology Letter with Threats
Forged Document by Huawei
Council of Ministers Resolution Concerning the Digital Project
Letter of Hon. Michael Makuei to Foreign Affairs
Letter of Former Minister of Telecom and Postal Services complain…Huawei Behaviors
US $ 6.5 Million Project Signed To Digitalize South Sudan Television And Radio
Letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Chinese Embassy in Juba 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.