08.03.2012 | PR03/2012
On March 7 ministers and ambassadors from Cameroon, CAR, Grenada, Guinea, Malawi, Rwanda
and Vietnam were at OFID to attend a group loan signature ceremony. Ethiopia signed its agreement on March 8.
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has signed eight concessional loan agreements with eight partner countries to co-finance projects that aim at alleviating poverty and raising living standards for several million people in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. The agreements were signed by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, and Finance Ministers and Ambassadors of the beneficiary countries.
Commenting on the newly-signed loans, Mr. Al-Herbish said: “The diversity of sectors being financed will target areas instrumental in promoting socio-economic development and tackling poverty; such as providing communities with safe drinking water and modern energy supplies and helping develop rural infrastructure.”
The signed loan agreements comprise:
|
Country
|
Project
|
Amount
US$mil
|
| Cameroon |
Water Supply. To co-finance a project that will carry out activities in seven localities in the south, eastern and central regions to provide some 30,000 people with sustainable access to safe drinking water. |
6.00 |
| Central African Republic |
Rehabilitation and Extension of Bambari and Bozoum Water Supply and Sewerage Systems. To help address drinking water shortages and improve sanitation services for roughly 74,000 people. |
4.00 |
| Ethiopia |
Gode-Kebridehar 132 KV Power Transmission. To expand the country’s national grid and provide electricity connections to 34 towns and villages. |
15.00 |
| Grenanda |
Schools Rehabilitation Project – Phase I. To rehabilitate and equip 10 schools and seven school kitchens. On completion, some 7,900 children are expected to enrol each year at the refurbished schools. |
10.50 |
| Guinea |
National Program to Support Agriculture Value Chains. To help decrease agricultural losses and improve yields for some 50,000 farmers and their families by rehabilitating and constructing rural infrastructure. |
10.00 |
| Malawi |
Zomba-Jali-Chitakale Road. (Supplementary Loan). This loan will help complete the upgrading of a key road to provide the population with swifter, year-round access to marketplaces and social services. |
5.00 |
| Rwanda |
Rubengera-Gasiza Road. To build a 23.6 km-long road in the Western Province, thus enhancing access to social services, marketplaces and agricultural production zones for some 1.8 million people. |
10.00 |
| Vietnam |
Coastal Infrastructure Development. To help finance a series of small-scale projects that will be implemented in the Thanh Hoa and Ha Tinh provinces, two of the country’s poorest areas, benefiting at least 830,000 individuals. |
21.50 |
| Total |
|
82.00 |
Since its inception, OFID has committed more than US$13.8 billion in support of sustainable development in 132 countries.