Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $328.1 million loan for Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#30235)

$328.1M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Government of Republic of Congo
Country	Congo
Start Date	Jun 14, 2014
End Date	Jun 08, 2028
Duration	5,108 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`58720`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $328.1 million loan for Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project On June 19, 2006, China Eximbank and the Republic of Congo signed a $1.6 billion loan framework agreement — also known in the Republic of Congo as the “strategic partnership” (“partenariat stratégique”) — that allowed the Republic of Congo to obtain China Eximbank loans for infrastructure projects through a securitization mechanism: Société Nationales des Pétroles Congolais (SNPC)—the country’s state-owned oil company—agreed to deposit a portion of the cash proceeds from its oil exports into an escrow account that is controlled by China Eximbank.

This framework agreement (captured in Record ID#60219) was ratified on October 26, 2006.

One of the subsidiary loans that was approved through the framework agreement was a $328.1 million loan in 2014 for the Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project.

The proceeds of the loan were to be used by the borrower to finance 85% of the cost of a $386 million commercial contract. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was $257,756,900 as of December 31, 2019.

Built on a space of 121,800 square meters, the 30-story, 135-meter-high twin towers — in the Mpila neighborhood within the capital city of Brazzaville — serve as a commercial center.

In one of the towers, several floors are reserved for offices; the other tower houses a five-star hotel with three hundred and forty-nine rooms, including presidential suites, ministerial suites and standard rooms.

Beijing Construction Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (BCEG), Sanxin Facade Engineering Co.,Ltd, and AVIC were the contractors responsible for implementation. Construction began on July 1, 2015. The building reached its designed height on August 11, 2017. The project had achieved a 70% execution rate as of March 31, 2019.

It was ultimately completed on October 30, 2019. The project employed 800 Congolese and Chinese technicians during the construction phase. A formal, ribbon-cutting and inauguration ceremony took place on October 23, 2023.

Dieudonne Bantsimba, the mayor of Brazzaville, attended the ceremony and invited the Congolese people to take ownership of the two towers, which he said would contribute to the beautification of the Congolese capital. President of the Republic of the Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso also attended the ceremony.

In his formal remarks, he said "I would like to congratulate the company managers, engineers and workers who created this magnificent work which symbolizes strength and beauty, and gives a very strong signal on the future of relations between China and Congo."

📋 Staff Comments

The twin-towers building is also known as the Brazzaville Commercial Center. As such, this project is also known as the Brazzaville Commercial Center Construction Project. The French project title is La construction des tours jumelles or La construction du centre des affaires des deux tours. The Chinese project title is 布拉柴维尔商务中心项目 or 布拉柴维尔商业中心 or 刚果双子塔 or 刚果布拉柴维尔商务中心项目 or 刚果（布）布拉柴维尔商务中心 or 双子座项目.
According to a 2019 report published by the Republic of Congo’s National Assembly, all loans approved under the framework agreement had an interest rate of 0.25%, maturities between 13-years and 20-years, and grace periods between 3 and 5-years. Therefore, since the maturity of the China Eximbank loan for the Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project is missing, AidData imputes a value (16.5-years) at the middle of the distribution of this maturity range as an approximation. Likewise, since the grace period of the loan is missing, AidData imputes a value (4-years) at the middle of the distribution of this range as an approximation.
A China Eximbank source indicates that $410 million was provided for the construction of Mpila Memorial Construction Project, the Mpila Shopping Center Construction Project, and the Mpila Twin Towers Construction Project. This monetary value is roughly equivalent to the combined value of the 3 China Eximbank loans that were issued for these projects: a $19.19 million loan for the Mpila Memorial Construction Project (captured via Project ID#58721), a $62.3 million loan for the Mpila Shopping Center Construction Project (captured via Project ID#58408), and a $328.1 million loan for the Brazzaville Commercial Center (Mpila Twin Towers) Construction Project (captured via Project ID#58720).

📚 Sources & References

Both Houses of the Parliament have ratified a Complementary Agreement on the Restructuring of Congo's debt to China by 1, 479.83 billion FCFA.
Résumé de l'Accord de restructuration de la dette du Congo envers la Chine
驻刚果（布）大使夏煌陪同刚政要考察中刚合作项目
Decree 2015-178
China's Bilateral Relations with Its Principal Oil Suppliers
刚大工部及计划部两位部长考察中企项目
Congo : un accord de coopération de 200 millions de yuans signé avec la Chine
La Chine offre deux Tours jumelles de 30 étages au Congo
进出口银行贷款支持刚果（布）社会经济发展项目
北京建工中西非最高楼建设稳步推进
北京建工以质量为本打造刚果河畔新地标(组图)
习近平主席特使陈政高莅临三鑫幕墙海外分公司项目 —刚果双子塔工地考察
习近平主席特使陈政高参观北京建工刚果（布）分公司项目
Loi n.14-2015 du 24 Septembre 2015
EXIMBANK China
N°23 RAPPORT SUR L'ACCORD COMPLEMENTAIRE SUR LA RESTRUCTURATION DE LA DETTE ENVERS LA CHINE (1) N°23
Mpila
Bargaining with Beijing: A Tale of Two Borrowers
Chinese Loans to Africa Database
驻刚果（布）使馆组织参观布拉柴维尔商务中心项目
刚果（布）布拉柴维尔商务中心
Initiative pour la Transparence dans les Industries Extractives
Congolese president inaugurates Chinese-built twin towers
Congo unveils $281m Mpila twin tours of capital Brazzaville
MAJOR PROJECTS FINANCED BY THE BANK 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.