Chinese state company grants Sudan 10 million dollars for development of railways

KHARTOUM, Sudan, Mar 05, 2004 (AP) — China’s state oil company had decided to lend Sudan US$10 million for the development of its railways, saying it will recoup through use of the service, the official Sudan Media Center reported on Friday.

The loan was promised at meeting in Beijing between Sudan’s Finance Minister Al-Zubair Hassan Ahmed and the chairman of China’s National Petroleum Company on Thursday, the media center said.

The company said the loan would be interest-free and that it would like to be repaid through freight transport on Sudan’s railways, the media center reported.

The company seeks to expand its interests in Sudan to petrochemicals and other industries, the report added.

China’s National Petroleum Company is one of four partners in the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company and holds a 40 percent stake. The other partners are Petronas of Malaysia, ONGGC BV Videsh of India and Sudan PET, Sudan’s state oil company.