Completed Mixed AidData Chinese Aid

China Eximbank provides $38.4 million buyer’s credit loan for Lot 3A Bahir Dar-Debre Markos 400kV Power Transmission Turnkey Project (Linked to Record ID#45047)

$38.46M USD

Funder	Export-Import Bank of China (China Eximbank)
Recipient Organization	Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)
Country	Ethiopia
Start Date	Mar 04, 2008
End Date	Feb 24, 2027
Duration	6,931 days
Number of Grantees	1
Roles	Recipient
Data Source	AidData Chinese Aid
Grant ID	`92177`

Grant Description

China Eximbank provides $38.4 million buyer’s credit loan for Lot 3A Bahir Dar-Debre Markos 400kV Power Transmission Turnkey Project In November 2006, China Eximbank and the Government of Ethiopia’s Ministry of Finance and Economic Development signed a $500 million buyer’s credit facility agreement (互惠贷款) — also known as a master loan framework agreement and a master facility agreement — for an unspecified set of development projects.

📋 Loan / Grant Terms

💰 Loan Amountfacility agreement (captured via Record ID#45047) carried the following borrowing terms: a 13-year maturity

📅 Maturity13 years

⏳ Grace Period4 years

All of the subsidiary loans were secured with (i.e., collateralized against) Ethiopia's export receipts to China, which at the time primarily consisted of sesame seed export receipts.

The buyer’s credit facility agreement also required that all Ethiopian exports (export receipts) to China to be overseen by the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE), the country’s largest state-owned financial institution.

As a source of collateral, the borrower was required to maintain a minimum cash balance in a debt service reserve account (DSRA) at the CBE.

The cash balance of the DSRA (escrow account) was $284,368,041 as of June 30, 2011, $308,914,767 as of June 30, 2012, $300,000,000 as of June 30, 2016, $300,000,000 as of June 30, 2017, $300,000,000 (ETB 8,260,410,000) as of June 30, 2018, $300,000,000 as of June 30, 2019, ETB 10,599,600,000 as of June 30, 2020, ETB 8,058,726,059 as of June 30, 2021, ETB 10,722,750,953 as of June 30, 2022, and ETB 9,832,603,839 as of June 30, 2023. 16 subsidiary loans for 16 different projects were reportedly approved under the buyer’s credit facility agreement.

According to the Government of Ethiopia’s Aid Management Platform (AMP), China Eximbank, CBE, and Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCo) — an Ethiopian state-owned enterprise — signed a subsidiary buyer’s credit loan worth approximately ETB 335,934,342 ($38,464,879) for the Lot 3A Bahir Dar-Debre Markos 400kV Power Transmission Turnkey Project on March 4, 2008.

The loan's first and last scheduled principal payment dates were December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2021, respectively. Its first and last scheduled interest payment dates were December 31, 2011 and March 31, 2021, respectively.

The borrower was expected to use the proceeds of the loan to finance approximately 85% of the cost of a ETB 388,807,492.76 commercial contract between EEPCo) and Shanghai Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Engineering Co., Ltd., which was signed in August 2007.

According to the Government of Ethiopia’s AMP, the ETB 335,934,342 ($38,464,879) loan achieved a 18% disbursement rate, with China Eximbank making a single loan disbursement (worth ETB 61,933,109) on March 31, 2010.

The purpose of the project was to construct a 400 kV, 193.77 km power transmission line that connects Bahir Dar II substation to Debre Markos substation. Its precise implementation start date is unknown. However, as of September 2010, the project had achieved a 75% completion rate. The project was officially completed and inaugurated on March 19, 2011.

It was originally scheduled to commence on October 17, 2007 and reach completion on April 17, 2010.

📋 Staff Comments

The Chinese project title is 埃塞俄比亚400kV变电站和输电线路项目.
For loan and debt rescheduling records with variable interest rates, AidData calculates the all-in interest rate at T0 based on the reference rate (such as LIBOR or EURIBOR) on the loan start date, plus any known margin. Please see the methodology for additional details. For this record, the margin was taken as the midpoint between the margin range.
This buyer's credit loan from China Eximbank is not included in the database of Chinese loan commitments that SAIS-CARI released in 2020 and re-released in 2021. Nor is it included it in the China’s Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020.
This project was part of a larger, $168 million project with four sections (‘Lots’) — known as the Bahir Dar-Debre Markos-Addis Ababa (BBDA) Power Transmission Line and Substations Project, the BBDA Power Transmission Line and Substation Project, the BBDA Power Transmission and Transformation Project, or the Tana Beles to Addis Ababa 400 kV Power Transmission Line Construction Project — that involved the construction of a 400 km transmission line from the Tana Beles hydropower plant to Sululta substation through Bahir Dar and Debre Markos substations. The power transmission line has three sections: a 67 km section from Tana Beles hydropower plant switchyard to Bahir Dar II substation, a 193.77 km section from Bahir Dar II substation to Debre Markos substation, and a 215.43 km section from Debre Markos substation to Sululta substation.
The AMP system identification number for the Lot 3A Bahir Dar-Debre Markos 400kV Power Transmission Turnkey Project is 8714327100836.
1 Ethiopian Birr (ETB) was equal to 0.1 United States Dollars (USD) in October 2008, which implies that the ETB 335,934,342 loan commitment recorded in the AMP was worth USD 33,593,434.20 at that time that it was contracted.
According to CBE's financial statements for the year ending on June 30, 2012 (https://www.combanketh.et/cbeapi/uploads/2011_12_2037357399.pdf), 'CBE is the administrator of the total loan of USD 499,222,780, granted by EXIM Bank of China to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation (EEPCO) and Muger Cement Enterprise (MCE). The said loans are repayable by EEPCO and MCE to CBE in Birr over a period of ten years.'8. The loan identification number in the Government of Ethiopia’s Debt Management and Financial Analysis System (DMFAS) is 20776013 and the corresponding project name in DMFAS is ‘DEBERMARKOS-A.A LOT-2 SUBSTATI ’. See https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7nrczfanixvivmiyzqx3i/MOFED-Loan-Level-Data-on-Borrowing-Terms-and-Loan-Performance-September-2024_OTHER_PUBLIC.xlsx?rlkey=5sqhh9ii4t3x8cmz0jf6s7cod&dl=09. As of September 2024, the Government of Ethiopia recorded the loan's all-in interest rate as 2% in DMFAS (see https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7nrczfanixvivmiyzqx3i/MOFED-Loan-Level-Data-on-Borrowing-Terms-and-Loan-Performance-September-2024_OTHER_PUBLIC.xlsx?rlkey=5sqhh9ii4t3x8cmz0jf6s7cod&dl=0), which suggests the possibility of a debt rescheduling involving an interest rate reduction. This issue warrants further investigation.

📚 Sources & References

LOT -3A BAHIRDAR-DEBRE MARKOS 400KV TRANSMISSION TRUN KEY PROJECT
Lag in Transmission Lines Compels Systematic Power Shedding by EEPCo
CBE Annual Report 2010-2011
CBE Annual Report 2011-2012
MOFED Loan-Level Data on Borrowing Terms and Loan Performance September 2024_PUBLIC
Infrastructure Development in Ethiopia and Its Impact on Economic Diplomacy With China
List of Ethiopia- China Cooperation Major Projects from Ethiopia's Ministry of Finance September 2024 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

Commercial Bank of Ethiopia (CBE)

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