China Eximbank provides RMB 1.969 billion government concessional loan for 96 km Tiébissou-Bouaké Highway Project (Linked to Record ID#66367, #66325)

China Eximbank provides RMB 1.969 billion government concessional loan for 96 km Tiébissou-Bouaké Highway Project On August 30, 2018, during a visit to Beijing by President of Côte d’Ivoire Ouattara, the Chinese Government and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire signed a preferential loan framework agreement for the 96 km Tiébissou-Bouaké Highway Project.

Then, on September 3, 2018, China Eximbank and the Government of Côte d’Ivoire signed an RMB 1,969,000,000 (CFA 161,702,658,170) government concessional loan (GCL) agreement [CHINA EXIMBANK GCL No. (2018) 23 TOTAL NO. (665)] for the 96 km Tiébissou-Bouaké Highway Project. The GCL agreement was ratified by the Ivorian Council of Ministers on December 12, 2018 (via Décret n° 2018-924).

However, it is known that the borrower was to use the proceeds of the loan to finance a commercial contract between the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and China Road & Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which was signed on November 3, 2017.

According to the Government of Côte d'Ivoire’s Aid Management Platform (AMP), as of February 29, 2024, the China Eximbank loan had achieved a 97.6% disbursement rate (CFA 157,836,914,546.95 out of CFA 161,702,658,170). 35 loan disbursements (CFA 157,836,914,546.95) took place between 2019 and 2024: a CFA 24,255,398,726 disbursement on March 31, 2019, a CFA 2,328,504,363 disbursement on July 31, 2019, a CFA 267,708,719 disbursement on August 31, 2019, a CFA 1,497,918,884 disbursement on October 31, 2019, a CFA 1,644,198,692 disbursement on November 30, 2019, a CFA 6,988,667,300 disbursement on December 31, 2019, a CFA 1,799,219,878 disbursement on February 28, 2020, a CFA 2,545,593,567 disbursement on March 31, 2020, a CFA 1,865,655,329 disbursement on April 30, 2020, a CFA 2,018,475,154 disbursement on May 31, 2020, a CFA 1,099,120,168 disbursement on June 30, 2010, a CFA 1,311,146,676 disbursement on July 31, 2020, a CFA 769,209,524 disbursement on August 31, 2020, a CFA 3,048,153,031 disbursement on December 31, 2020, a CFA 1,062,845,867 disbursement on March 31, 2021, a CFA 5,680,700,701 disbursement on April 30, 2021, a CFA 15,521,452,065 disbursement on June 30, 2021, a CFA 3,949,798,273.95 disbursement on December 31, 2021, a CFA 433,477,164 disbursement on January 31, 2022, a CFA 1,255,903,906 disbursement on February 28, 2022, a CFA 2,988,334,487 disbursement on March 31, 2022, a CFA 442,988,541 disbursement on May 31, 2022, a CFA 3,153,282,806 disbursement on June 30, 2022, a CFA 1,831,111,817 disbursement on July 31, 2022, a CFA 4,885,094,463 disbursement on August 31, 2022, a CFA 2,447,649,159 disbursement on September 30, 2022, a CFA 4,855,887,199 disbursement on November 30, 2022, a CFA 5,352,275,545 disbursement on January 31, 2023, a CFA 3,527,597,690 disbursement on February 28, 2023, a CFA 11,181,527,274 disbursement on April 30, 2023, a CFA 6,235,523,266 disbursement on May 31, 2023, a CFA 7,352,096,711 disbursement on June 30, 2023, a CFA 6,038,872,706 disbursement on October 24, 2023, a CFA 9,141,228,350 disbursement on January 31, 2024, and a CFA 9,060,296,545 disbursement on February 29, 2024.

The purpose of this project was to construct a 96 km section of the two-way, four-lane, Northern Highway (Autoroute du Nord or l’Autoroute Abidjan-Frontière Nord or 北部公路) — with a design speed of 130 km per hour — between Tiébissou and Bouaké.

The Tiebissou-Bouake road section consists of three subsections (known as ‘lots’): a 35 km subsection (29+450 at PK 64+450 or ‘Lot 1’); a 13.9 km subsection (known as 64+450 at PK 78+350) and a 11.726 km expressway at the entrance of Bouaké to the southern corridor (‘Lot 2’); and a 35 km subsection (78+350 at PK 113+350 or ‘Lot 3’).

It also involved the construction of six interchanges, two market areas, one fuel station, a toll station, a weighing platform, eight road crossings, ten pedestrian crossings, and nine bridges (three highway bridges and six overpasses).

The Tiebissou-Bouake road section is the second component of a larger highway construction project linking the cities of Yamoussoukro and Bouaké (known as the Yamoussoukro-Bouaké Road Construction Project). The first component is a road section between Yamoussoukro and Tiébissou financed by the Islamic Development Bank.

The Northern Highway project aims to connect Abidjan, a coastal city on Cote d'Ivoire's southern border, to the northern border shared with Mali. CRBC was the EPC contractor responsible for implementation. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on November 29, 2018. However, construction, which was originally expected to last 36 months, did not begin until April 15, 2019.

The Ivorian Minister of Equipment and Road Maintenance completed an on-site project inspection on May 28, 2020. By September 2020, the project had achieved a 40% completion rate.

Then, on May 10, 2021, 400 CRBC workers responsible for the construction of the Tiébissou-Bouaké highway announced a strike to demand better working conditions. Project implementation was further delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of November 26, 2021, more than 400 CRBC employees had received the two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine for COVID-19.

The project was ultimately completed and the road was opened to traffic on August 24, 2023.