Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $10 million loan for Solar Street Light Acquisition and Installation Project (Linked to Record ID#450)

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Sino-Congolais des Mines (Sicomines SARL)
Country	Democratic Republic of the Congo
Start Date	Aug 17, 2015
End Date	Dec 03, 2030
Duration	5,587 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`59217`

Grant Description

[Sino-Congolese Programme] China Eximbank provides $10 million loan for Solar Street Light Acquisition and Installation Project In 2008, China Eximbank issued a $3.003 billion general buyer's credit loan to Sino–Congolais des Mines (Sicomines SARL) — a joint venture — to finance infrastructure projects in the DRC (as captured via Record ID#450).

All subsidiary borrowings under the (government-guaranteed) general buyer's credit loan agreement were to be repaid with revenues from mining projects managed by Sicomines SARL.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountcarried a maturity of 25 years

All infrastructure projects supported through the general buyer's credit loan were part of the so-called “Sino-Congolese Programme." One of the subsidiary loans issued as part of the ‘Sino-Congolese Programme’ was a $10 million loan for the Solar Street Light Acquisition and Installation Project.

As of 2020, the loan had achieved a disbursement rate of 85% ($8,534,403.23 out of $10,000,000). The purpose of the project was the acquisition and installation of 5000 solar street lights in Tanganyika Province. Sinohydro is the contractor responsible for project implementation. It was awarded a $10 million contract (ID#ACGT/DG/021/2015) on August 17, 2015.

However, a company called Energy Plus was responsible for supplying the solar street lights (or “solar poles”). On November 25, 2017, project implementation commenced. The solar street light equipment arrived on-site on February 27, 2018. The originally scheduled project completion date was April 21, 2018.

However, the expected completion of the project was late delayed to November 2018.

Also, according to the ACGT 2018 Annual Report, sometime during 2018 the number of solar street lights to be acquired and installed was revised downward from 5000 to 1382. The project achieved provisional acceptance on March 10, 2022.

📋 Staff Comments

The French project title is Acquisition de 5000 poteaux solaires, Acquisition de 1.382 poteaux solaires, Acquisition de 1382 poteaux, or Projet des panneaux solaires.
Some sources refer to this project as being financed with a donation rather than a loan. This issue warrants further investigation.
Given that AidData has captured the entire $3.003 billion China Eximbank loan commitment amount for multiple infrastructure projects via Project ID#450, it does not record a financial commitment (transaction) amount for the subsidiary loan supporting this project to avoid double-counting.
For loan and debt rescheduling records with variable interest rates, AidData calculates the all-in interest rate at T0 based on the reference rate (such as LIBOR or EURIBOR) on the loan start date, plus any known margin. Please see the methodology for additional details.

📚 Sources & References

Rapport Annuel 2015
Rapport Annuel 2018
Rapport Annuels 2017
Modernization of Nzolana Avenue
Modernization of Nzolana Avenue, drc-china infrastructure status march 2011
Modernisation de l’avenue Nzolana
Rapport de conciliation ITIE-RDC 2016 Réalisé pour le compte du Comité Exécutif de l’ITIE RDC Par Ernst & Young RDC SARL
Administrateur Indépendant
The impact of Sicomines on development in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Acquisition of 5000 solar poles
Acquisition de 5 000 poteaux solaires
Rapport Annuel 2017
Rapport Annuel 2016
Plan du Travail
Sicomines : un bel exemple de coopération sino-africaine, rapport 2013
Mensuel N° 004 Décembre 2015.pdf
The Sicomines agreement revisited: prudent Chinese banks and risk-taking Chinese companies, 2018 Annual Report
RAPPORT_ASSOUPLI_ITIE_RDC_2018_2019_1er_Semestre_2020_Adopté
CONVENTION DE LA SINO-CONGOLAISE DES MINES : Qui perd, qui gagne entre l’Etat congolais et la Chine ?
Etude d’évaluation de la mise en œuvre de la convention de collaboration relative au développement d’un projet minier et d’un projet d’infrastructures en RD Congo Projet SICOMINES
RDC - Contrat chinois : Un centre de recherche dénombre 40 infrastructures réalisées mais surfacturées à 824 millions $ 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

Sino-Congolais des Mines (Sicomines SARL)

Interested in applying for this grant?

Complete our application form to express your interest and we'll guide you through the process.

Apply for This Grant