Above: Antigua (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

A delegation from China’s EXIM Bank led by Vice President Zhu Hongji began a visit to Antigua on Wednesday.

The purpose of the trip is to observe the construction and status of projects currently being financed by the bank, according to Antigua’s government.

Zhu is being joined by a five-member delegation which will meet with Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer and other Cabinet members along with non-resident Ambassador David Shoul.

Zhu will also tour the construction of the new terminal at VC Bird International Airport.

The delegation includes Yuan Li, president of the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, which is carrying out construction at the airport.

“We are delighted that we have been able to close this loan agreement with the China EXIM Bank that was entered into by the former administration some 15 years ago,” Spencer said in a statement. “Last month, we made the final payment of 2.2 million RMB on the loan.”

That is approximately $345,021 USD.

“We will continue to work with the China EXIM Bank which has demonstrated that it is a true friend of Antigua and Barbuda and we are looking forward to the completion of the new airport terminal which is the latest project being funded by the EXIM bank,” Spencer said.