Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides RMB 642.4 million government concessional loan for Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road Upgrading Project (Linked to Record ID#95363, 95365)

¥642.4K RMB

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Fiji Ministry of Economy
Country	Fiji
Start Date	Sep 21, 2012
End Date	Mar 26, 2026
Duration	4,934 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`64738`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides RMB 642.4 million government concessional loan for Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road Upgrading Project On September 21, 2012, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji’s Ministry of Economy signed an RMB 642,417,124 government concessional loan (GCL) agreement for the Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road Upgrading Project.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💹 Interest Rate2%

The proceeds of the GCL were to be used by the borrower to finance a commercial contract with China Railway First Group (Fiji) Company Ltd. The loan’s (principal) amount outstanding was RMB 1515,449,391.95 (FJD 160,761,435.91) as of June 30, 2023.

The borrower made principal payments worth RMB 51,544,938 (FJD 16,747,649.01) and interest payments worth RMB 11,238,228.53 (FJD 3,651,264.24) between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.

The purpose of the project was to upgrade a 70 km highway that runs from Labasa (Dreketi) to Nabouwalu (Nabouwalu jetty). The project also involved the construction of 14 new bridges and 209 culverts along the highway. China Railway First Group (Fiji) Company Ltd. was the contractor responsible for implementation.

The project was officially launched on March 15, 2013 and completed on July 28, 2015. At its peak, the project employed 500 local workers. The Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road was opened for public use on January 11, 2016. This project reportedly reduced travel time between Nabouwalu jetty to Labasa from 7 hours to 2 hours.

There are some indications that the China Eximbank loan for the Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road Upgrading Project may have financially underperformed vis-a-vis the original expectations of the lender.

In 2020, China Eximbank and the Government of Fiji signed a debt suspension agreement as part of the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI).

Under the terms of the agreement, the lender agreed to suspend principal and interest payments due between May 1, 2020 and December 31, 2020 under multiple government concessional loan (GCL) agreements (as captured via Record ID#95365).

Debt service payments under all or many of these loan agreements were again deferred in 2021 (as captured via Record ID#95363).

📋 Staff Comments

The Chinese project title is 斐济北岛纳布瓦鲁-德瑞凯帝公路升级改造项目.
In the Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020, it identifies this project as being supported by a USD $840 million China Eximbank loan. However, AidData relies on the face value of the loan (RMB 642,417,124) that Fiji’s Ministry of Economy reported to AidData’s Executive Director in April 2018 correspondence.See https://www.dropbox.com/s/uu8muq0ldgd8kjp/FW-%20Request%20for%20List%20of%20Loans%20from%20Chinese%20Government%20Institutions.eml?dl=03. The data on amounts outstanding and repayments were provided by Fiji's Ministry of Finance to AidData's Executive Director in June 2023. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/jqsnza05ar9r8x3/Data%20on%20data%20on%20disbursements%2C%20repayments%20and%20amounts%20outstanding%20under%20China%20Eximbank%20loans.pdf?dl=04. According to the World Bank's Debtor Reporting System (DRS), the weighted average grace period of all official sector lending from Chinese creditors to government and government-guaranteed borrowing institutions in Fiji was 5.0833-years in 2012. AidData estimates the grace period of the China Eximbank loan that supported the Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road Upgrading Project by using this figure. See https://www.dropbox.com/s/949n5rctiue6d7c/IDS_Average_grace_period_and_maturity_on_new_external_debt_commitments.xlsx?dl=05. This loan participated in DSSI with China. AidData acquired the number of loans that were rescheduled in 2020 and 2021 from Fiji's ministry of finance website. All loans participated in both DSSI 2020 and 2021.

📚 Sources & References

China helps build roads in Fiji to common development
Successful Completion of the Nabouwalu Dreketi Highway
Remarks by H.E. Mr. Qian Bo
Ambassador of China to Fiji at the Opening Ceremony of Rural Development Symposium
Budget Estimates 2016-2017
张平大使与斐济总理出席中国政府优贷项目纳布瓦鲁公路通车仪式, 2013 Corporate Plan and Statement of Corporate Intent
中国提供优贷斐济北岛纳布瓦鲁-德瑞凯帝公路升级改造项目举行隆重开工仪式
Provincial Road Development Financed With Chinese Loan In Fiji
FIJI TO PLAY HOST TO TOP CHINESE OFFICIAL
NEW DEVELOPMENT FOR NORTHERN ROADS
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI
Republic of Fiji Budget Estimates 2019-2020
Government of Fiji 2015 Bond Prospectus
中铁一局承建斐济公路项目竣工
NABOUWALU – DREKETI ROADS UPGRADE IN PROGRESS
Summary of EXIMBOC Loans
Chinese soft loan signed off to improve Fiji highway
Address by H.E. Ambassador Huang Yong on the Occasion of the 65th Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China
Chinese Aid In the Pacific (Map)
Over $200M to be received from China
Nabouwalu-Dreketi roadworks soon
China's Overseas Development Finance
HON PM BAINIMARAMA SPEECH AT THE OPENING OF THE NABOUWALU TO DREKETI 70KM ROAD EXTENSION PROJECT
Remarks by Ambassador Zhang Ping at the Opening Ceremony for Nabouwalu-Dreketi Road
GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY – NABOUWALU/DREKETI ROAD CONSTRUCGTION - PM Bainimarama
Successful Completion Of Nabouwalu-Dreketi Highway
Feature: China helps build roads in Fiji to common development
Data on data disbursements, repayments and amounts outstanding under China Eximbank loans
IDS_Average_grace_period_and_maturity_on_new_external_debt_commitments
REPORT OF THE AUDITOR-GENERAL OF THE REPUBLIC OF FIJI 2018-2019 Financial Statements of Government, 2017-2018 Financial Statements of Government & 2017-2018 Agency Financial Statements of Ministry of Economy 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.