Completed Development AidData Chinese Aid

Chinese Government provides RMB 29.6 million interest-free loan for Ha‘apai High School Construction Project (Linked to Record ID#65773, #85621)

¥29.63M RMB

Funder	China Ministry of Commerce
Recipient Organization	Government of the Kingdom of Tonga
Country	Tonga
Start Date	Jan 01, 2000
End Date	Dec 03, 2030
Duration	11,294 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`65772`

Grant Description

Chinese Government provides RMB 29.6 million interest-free loan for Ha‘apai High School Construction Project In 2000, China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) reportedly provided RMB 36,400,000 (T$9,578,947.36) of funding for the Ha‘apai High School Construction Project. 81.4% of the project cost (RMB 29,629,600 or T$7,800,000) was financed with an interest-free loan (with a 20-year maturity) from the Chinese Government and 18.6% of the project cost (RMB 6,770,400) or T$1,778,947.36) was financed with a grant from the Chinese Government.

The loan is captured in Record ID#65772 and the grant is captured in Record ID#85621.

The purpose of the project was to construct a 6,125 square meter (22,050 square feet) new high school (Ha‘apai High School) in the village of Pangai on the island of Ha’apai with the following features: 16 normal classrooms, 12 specialized classrooms for Home Economics, Industrial Arts, Science and Computer subjects, a staff a staff room, offices of the Principal, Deputy Principal and administrative staff, a school hall, 12 staff quarters, 21 cement water tanks, 1 football field, and 2 basketball courts.

The school was also equipped (with grant funding) with desks and chairs, audio-visual facilities and sports equipment.

Tianjin Construction Engineering Group (also known as Tianjin Construction Engineering Group Corporation) was the contractor responsible for the construction of the school. Local sub-contractors were responsible for the fencing, the water tanks and the roadwork. Construction commenced on October 10, 2000.

Then, a formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on August 16, 2000. The school was officially opened on December 18, 2001 by His Majesty King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV.

📋 Staff Comments

This project is also known as the Ha'apai High School Project. The Tongan project title is Ngaue Langa 'oe Ako Ma'olunga 'a Ha'apai.
On July 5, 2016, the Chinese Government agreed (at least in principle) to write off the remaining balance of the loan for this project (see Project ID#65773). The debt forgiveness agreement was finalized no later than December 2018.
One official source (http://www.finance.gov.to/sites/default/files/2020-09/Budget%20Statement%202009-2010.pdf) suggests that the year in which the loan was contracted was 1998. However, several other sources suggest that the loan did not go into effect until 2000. For the time being, AidData has coded the commitment year as 2000 and checked the commitment year uncertain flag.
Some official sources refer to the lender as China Development Bank or Bank of China. However, given that the loan that supported this project was an interest-free loan, the lender is almost certainly China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM). Note that MOFCOM often uses bank accounts managed by China Development Bank or Bank of China to make interest-free loan disbursements to its borrowers.
This record has been marked as having evidence of financial distress because it was part of the debt restructuring agreement captured in record #65773

📚 Sources & References

Annual Public Debt Bulletin (June 2015) 29 / 33
Microsoft Word - APDB-final-unsgd_June 2012
中汤经贸合作情况
CHINA DECIDES TO WRITE OFF TONGA’S LOAN FOR THE RECONSTRUCTION OF HA’APAI HIGH SCHOOL
TONGA-CHINA SIGNS T$9 MILLION LOAN AGREEMENT FOR DATELINE HOTEL UPGRADE
China writes off loan for Tonga school rebuild
TONGA – EDUCATION SECTOR STUDY
HIS MAJESTY KING TAUFA’AHAU TUPOU IV
China's Overseas Development Finance
China writes off loan for Tonga school rebuild
Financial and Compliance Audit
Budget Statement for Year Ending 30th June 2010
CONSTRUCTION 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

Government of the Kingdom of Tonga

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