China Development Bank provides $150 million loan for ICT Enhanced Surveillance Project (Linked to Record ID#2034, #58586, #86361, and #85282)

China Development Bank provides $150 million loan for ICT Enhanced Surveillance Project On December 16, 2011, China Development Bank and the Government of Ghana signed a $3 billion master facility agreement (captured via Record ID#2034). This agreement established two lending facilities: Tranche A and Tranche B.

According to Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning, as of November 2018, the $150 million CDB loan for this project had fully disbursed.

Both loan tranches (Tranches A and B) under the master facility agreement are collateralized against cash proceeds from the sale of crude oil from the Jubilee field.

In December 2011, the Government of Ghana and China Development Bank signed an Accounts Agreement that established a Collection Account (CA), Debt Service Reserve Account (DSRA), and Owner Contribution Account in CDB’s Hong Kong Branch for the operation and management of the loan.

Under the terms of the Accounts Agreement (which was amended on June 13, 2012 and June 21, 2013), the Government of Ghana (a) granted CDB a first fixed charge over all repayment accounts, including the CA, the DSRA, and the Owner Contribution Account; and (b) agreed to maintain a cover of 1.5 times each repayment in the DSRA at all times (i.e., a debt service cover ratio of 1.5).

CDB’s security interest in the charged assets, pursuant to the charge over accounts, continued to be in full force and effect, after the master facility agreement was amended in 2018.

In 2011, Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) and China International United Petroleum and Chemicals Co. (UNIPEC Asia Company Limited) also signed an Offtaker Agreement for the sale and purchase of crude oil to support repayment of the loan.

Under the terms of the Offtaker Agreement, GNPC agreed to supply and sell 13,000 barrels of crude oil from Jubilee Field each day to UNIPEC Asia over a 15.5-year period.

The proceeds from these oil sales were then to be withdrawn from Ghana’s Petroleum Holding Fund by BoG (as required by Ghana’s Petroleum Revenue Management Act) and deposited into the CA and the DSRA to facilitate loan repayment and provide sources of collateral.

In the event the proceeds from crude oil sales under the Offtaker Agreement were insufficient for the Government of Ghana to meet its debt service obligations, the Ghana’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning (MOFEP) was also granted authority to transfer funds from the Annual Budget Funding Amount (ABFA) to an offshore escrow account for the purpose of servicing outstanding debts to CDB and/or meeting the Government of Ghana’s counterpart funding commitments.

A Five Party Agreement (signed in December 2011 and amended on June 13, 2012 and June 21, 2013) between the Government of Ghana, Bank of Ghana (BoG), GNPC, CDB, and UNIPEC Asia Company Limited allows for provides the Government of Ghana the opportunity to use other sources of revenue to meet its debt service obligations.

The Five Party Agreement also sets out the structure of the oil-backed borrowing arrangement and the key contractual obligations of each party under the arrangement, including the Government of Ghana obligation to open and maintain the transaction accounts, BoG’s obligation to ensure timely and legal transfers of repayments to CDB accounts and to open and maintain standby letters of credit, GNPC’s obligation to supply and UNIPEC’s obligation to purchase crude oil to support repayments, and the obligation of Ghana’s MOFEP to oversee and manage the subsidiary loans and projects approved through the master facility agreement.

The cash balance of the DSRA was GHS 0 ($0) in 2013, GHS 415,877 ($136,753.55) in 2014, GHS 364,979,295 ($96,783,244.94) in 2015, GHS 366,604,322 ($92,926,496.66) in 2016, GHS 370,586,909 ($84,231,954.95) in 2017, GHS 370,586,909 ($78,960,839.70) in 2018, GHS 370,586,909 ($69,152,250.23) in 2019, GHS 370,586,909 ($64,710,992) in 2020, GHS 370,586,909 ($62,547,369.40) in 2021, and GHS 370,586,909 ($41,014,089.71) in 2022.

The cash balance of the Owner Contribution Account was GHS 0 ($0) in 2013, GHS 41,642,584 ($13,693,403.20) in 2014, GHS 192,069,065 ($50,931,840.84) in 2015, GHS 206,380,064 ($52,313,012.09) in 2016, GHS 206,380,064 ($46,908,824.43) in 2017, GHS 206,380,064 ($43,973,337.31) in 2018, GHS 206,380,064 ($38,510,928.15) in 2019, GHS 206,380,064 ($36,037,588.88) in 2020, GHS 206,380,064 ($34,832,666.20) in 2021, and GHS 206,380,064 ($22,840,770.28) in 2022.

The cash balance of the CA was GHS 0 ($0) in 2013, GHS 0 ($0) in 2014, GHS 9,576,037 ($2,539,321.94) in 2015, GHS 9,576,037 ($2,427,324.27) in 2016, GHS 9,576,037 ($2,176,569.91) in 2017, GHS 9,576,037 ($2,040,363.28) in 2018, GHS 9,576,037 ($1,786,907.44) in 2019, GHS 9,576,037 ($1,672,144.47) in 2020, GHS 9,576,037 ($1,616,236.05) in 2021, and GHS 9,576,037 ($1,059,811.96) in 2022.

Under the terms of the master facility agreement, subsidiary loan agreements must be negotiated to secure financial support for any given project. Tranche A is captured via Record ID#2034, and Tranche B is captured via Record ID#85282.

In April 2013, China Development Bank and the Government of Ghana signed a subsidiary loan agreement worth $150 million — using the Tranche B lending facility — for the ICT Enhanced Surveillance Project.

The proceeds of this loan were to be used by the borrower to finance approximately 85% of the cost of a $176.5 million commercial contract between Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., which was signed in 2012.

The purpose of the project was to build an integrated national security communication network with an encrypted PTT dispatching system, high speed mobile internet access, intranet VPN dedicated service, and national mobile video surveillance and emergency control and command services.

The network has give main components: eLTE Broadband Video Trunking, Intelligent Video Surveillance, Emergency Command Centre, Data Center, and Emergency Communications Vehicle.

The ultimate objectives of the integrated national security communication network were to establish an emergency response and disaster relief mechanism for the Government of Ghana; provide extensive voice coverage and video surveillance for security sensitive areas; and co-ordinate national resources to deal with the threats posed to national security.

Another component of the project involved the deployment of a helicopter fleet for aerial surveillance and monitoring of gas infrastructure/facilities.

More specifically, this component involved the acquisition of four Z-9EH helicopters as part of an enhanced ICT surveillance system to support the Western Corridor Gas Infrastructure Development Project (see Record ID#58586).

It also involved the provision of spare parts and facilities for the aircraft and their maintenance, as well as personnel training.

The President of Ghana announced that the helicopters would be used to secure offshore oil installations, enhance maritime security and anti-piracy efforts, conduct medical evacuations, and conduct search and rescue operations. Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. was the general EPC contractor responsible for implementation.

However, China National Aero Technology Import and Export Corporation (CATIC) was involved in the provision of the four Z-9EH helicopters. The project officially commenced in 2012. CATIC successfully delivered all four helicopters to Ghana Air Force on September 23, 2015. The project was ultimately completed in 2017.

It reportedly resulted in the installation of approximately 800 CCTV cameras in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and some critical border areas such as Aflao, Elubo and Paga, as well as other critical national installations and some major towns across the country.

It also and the establishment of a national Emergency Command Center (or ‘National Command Centre’) other operations centers for emergency response and command and control for law enforcement, security, intelligence, and emergency response agencies.

According to Ghana’s Minister of National Security, Mr Albert Kan-Dapaah, “[the] project was largely successful, enhancing the communications of the various agencies and assisting to detect crime, road infractions, supporting major public events and providing evidence to support investigations and the prosecution of many cases where some details were captured by the CCTV network.’ On August 6, 2025, shortly after takeoff, one of the Z-9EH helicopters acquired via the CDB loan crashed in the Akrofuom District of Ashanti of Ghana, killing all eight passengers, including Ghana's Minister of Defence Edward Omane Boamah and Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, the Minister for Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and other government officials.