Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

CIDCA provides RMB 80 million interest-free loan for 28 Passenger Carriages Acquisition Project

¥80M RMB

Funder	China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA)
Recipient Organization	Myanmar Ministry of Finance
Country	Myanmar
Start Date	Mar 14, 2019
End Date	Jun 14, 2029
Duration	3,745 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`63145`

Grant Description

CIDCA provides RMB 80 million interest-free loan for 28 Passenger Carriages Acquisition Project On December 3, 2018, Myanmar’s Parliament approved the government’s plan to borrow RMB 80 million ($11.6 million) from the Chinese Government for the purchase of railway carriages.

Then, on March 14, 2019, the China International Development Cooperation Agency (CIDCA) and the Government of Myanmar’s Ministry of Planning and Finance signed an exchange of letters, which officially committed an RMB 80 million interest-free loan for the 28 Passenger Carriages Acquisition Project.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountcarries the following borrowing terms: a 25-year maturity

📅 Maturity25 years

⏳ Grace Period10 years

💹 Interest Rate0%

The borrower is responsible for repaying the loan in ten equal, annual installments (worth RMB 8 million) after the expiration of the 5-year disbursement period and the 10-year grace period.

The purpose of the project is to facilitate the acquisition of 28 air-sprung passenger carriages—14 ordinary and 14 first class—for use on the Yangon-Mandalay railroad.

The trains were sourced from Hebei Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation (HBMEC) and CRRC Sifang Co., Ltd. (Qingdao CRRC Sifang Rolling Stock Co., Ltd.).

On January 19, 2020, when President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar, the Minister for Transport and Communications of Myanmar U Thant Sin Maung and Chinese Minister of Commerce Mr. Zhong Shan signed and exchanged a project implementation agreement. Then, on January 5, 2021, the trains were handed over to the Burmese authorities.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the Procurement of (28) Nos. of Passenger Coaches Project. The Chinese project title is 中国援缅甸列车车厢项目 or 缅甸列车车厢项目.
Hebei Machinery & Equipment Import & Export Corporation (HBMEC), founded in 1978, is a state-owned provincial specialized foreign trade corporation that integrates industry, technology and trade.

📚 Sources & References

Myanmar
China sign documents on industry, transport projects
Parliament Approves Loan from China for Purchase of Chinese Trains
Lawmaker Urges Scrutiny of Railway Purchase from China
Questions raised over Chinese loans and the debt burden they cause, တရုတ်ကြွေးမြီ ဝန်ထုပ်ဝန်ပိုး
中国援缅甸列车车厢项目顺利交付
Reform agenda of Ministry of Transport and Communications: Working towards an efficient and affordable transportation modes
A New Chapter of Pauk-Phaw Friendship
State Counsellor
President Xi Jinping hold bilateral talks, witness signing 33 agreements
Myanmar
China sign documents on industry, transport projects
Air-conditioned train purchase with Chinese interest-free loan transferred to Myanmar Railways to be installed on high-traffic areas
Pyidaungsu Hluttaw approves purchase of trains with Chinese loan
Reform agenda of Ministry of Transport and Communications: Working towards an efficient and affordable transportation modes, myanma railways to acquire China-made rail coaches in 80 million yuan deal
China Inks Economic Agreements With Myanmar
Promising COVID-19 Vaccine Donation 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.