The Chinese Contract, originally called the “Programme de coopération sino-congolais”, signed in 2008 between the government and a consortium of Chinese companies including Exim Bank.
To finance its dilapidated infrastructures, the DRC had swapped two of its mines in Katanga against a $ 6.5 billion loan from Exim Bank. Of this amount, 3.5 billion was for the development of Sicomines, the joint-company created to exploit copper and cobalt. And the other 3 billion were to be used to finance the road, energy, rail and social infrastructure (universities and reference hospitals in each of the 145 territories) throughout the national territory.
What analysis to make of this contract 8 years later?
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