Active Development AidData Chinese Aid

[China-Venezuela Joint Fund] China Funds USD 2.4 Million Santo Domingo Irrigation Project (linked to Record ID#37829, 58677, 35985, 37528)

Funder	China Development Bank (CDB)
Recipient Organization	Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES)\|China-Venezuela Joint Fund
Country	Venezuela
Start Date	Jan 01, 2010
End Date	Jul 15, 2029
Duration	7,135 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`91565`

Grant Description

China-Venezuela Joint Fund Funds USD 2.4 Million Santo Domingo Irrigation Project On May 26, 2010, it was announced that the China-Venezuela Joint Fund (abbreviated FCCV in Spanish) (see Record ID#58677) would fund USD 2.4 million for the development of irrigation and agricultural infrastructure in Santo Domingo.

This project is called "El Sistema de Riego Santo Domingo" or "Agrosocialista Santo Domingo" in Spanish.

Hugo Chavez had discussed plans to develop agriculture around the Santo Domingo river as early as February of 2008, but this project was not officially announced until January of 2010.

Implementing agencies included PDVSA Agrícola, a subsidiary of PDVSA, and the National Institute of Agricultural Research (INIA), a subsidiary of the Ministry of People's Power for Agriculture and Land, which carried out 56% of the work. 42 hectares were already in full production in May of 2010.

An additional 10 hectares were cleared in 2019, and it was planned that the rice would be distributed in open air markets. It is unclear when this project was completed, or if it ever was.

📋 Staff Comments

In a 2009 speech, Chavez said 'rice production in the Santo Domingo irrigation system in Barinas, 5 million bolívares, with the People's Republic of China...Corn production, in the Santo Domingo irrigation system, with China, 8 million bolívares'. VEF 13 million in 2009 was equal to USD 6 million, according to TUFF internal currency calculations. This is much higher than the USD 2.4 million figure given in the 2010 project announcement. It is possible that this project was funded from both Tranche A (see project ID#35985) and Tranche B (see project ID#37528) of the China-Venezuela Joint Fund (see project ID#58677), and therefore the total project cost should be higher. This is further evidenced by the statement in the Correo del Orinoco article that 42 hectares had already been cleared. The more conservative, 2010 number was used, and the commitment date is currently recorded as 2010. It may be earlier.
No transaction amount is recorded because it is captured by the China-Venezuela Joint Fund.

📚 Sources & References

Productores llaneros aseguran que políticas agrícolas potenciarán siembra de cereales en municipio Barinas
Bandes financia a través del Fondo Conjunto Chino la siembra de 200 hectáreas de arroz
Aló Presidente N° 303
Intervención del Comandante Hugo Chávez, en el encuentro con estudiantes y egresados del Programa Nacional de Formación de Educadores Misión Sucre
Gobierno Bolivariano anuncia nueve proyectos agrícolas financiados con crédito de China 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.