The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has blacklisted China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, a civil engineering company registered in Nigeria, for 18 months, for alleged fraudulent practices.
In a statement posted on its website yesterday, the AfDB said: ”An investigation conducted by the bank’s office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption established that China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited, as a member of a joint venture with Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd., was jointly responsible for its joint venture partner’s fraudulent misrepresentations of its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel, while bidding for two tenders under the bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.”
It further stated that “the debarment renders China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited and its affiliates ineligible to participate in bank-financed projects during the debarment period. The debarment qualifies for cross-debarment by other multilateral development banks under the Agreement for Mutual Enforcement of Debarment Decisions, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Inter-American Development Bank and the World Bank Group.”
According to the statement, at the expiry of the debarment period, China Zhonghao Nigeria Limited will only be eligible to participate in AfDB-financed projects on condition that it implements an integrity compliance program consistent with the Bank’s guidelines.
The Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project is financed under the African Development Fund, an entity of the African Development Bank Group and aims at enhancing access to safe water supply services in the Nigerian states of Oyo and Taraba through, among other components, extension and rehabilitation works on the water transmission and distribution network.
In June 2019, the AfDB banned the Abuja-based Oceanic Construction and Engineering Nigeria Ltd. for a period of 48 months, for allegedly misrepresented its year of incorporation, the value of its reference contracts, and the experience of its key personnel, while bidding for two works contracts under the Bank-financed Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Improvement Project in Nigeria.
The Office of Integrity and Anti-Corruption of the African Development Bank Group is responsible for preventing, deterring and investigating allegations of corruption, fraud and other sanctionable practices in Bank Group-financed operations.
