12.06.2009 | PR26/2009
26/2009 June 12, 2009 Vienna, Austria
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has extended five new loans this week totaling nearly US$52 million. The financing will support public sector projects in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The agreements were signed on behalf of OFID by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director-General. The respective representatives signed on behalf of their beneficiary countries.
Mr. Al-Herbish noted that the latest projects being financed cover a wide range of sectors. They include boosting food security, improving health indicators and helping provide basic education. Others are rehabilitating transportation links and providing safe sanitation services. This helps illustrate OFID’s “unwavering commitment” to maintaining the delivery of concessional financing to sectors beneficiary countries consider high priority, said the Director-General. He stressed that OFID had maintained this stance despite today’s “uncertain economic climate.”
The breakdown of the loans is as follows:
|
Country
|
Project
|
Amount
US$mil
|
| Belize |
Solid Waste Management |
3.26 |
| DR Congo |
Rehabilitation of Primary Schools |
5.00 |
| Swaziland |
Sicunusa - Nhlangano Road |
25.00 |
| Uzbekistan |
Rehabilitation of Irrigation Network |
12.73 |
| Zambia |
Cancer Diseases Hospital (Phase II) |
6.00 |
| Total |
|
51.99 |
Implementation of the projects is expected to begin shortly and will bring numerous benefits to communities in the participating countries.
To date, OFID has provided more than US$10.6 billion in much needed development financing to 121 developing countries worldwide. The funding includes project and program loans, balance of payments support and HIPC debt relief, as well as financing under OFID’s Trade Finance Facility. Others are private sector financing, grant assistance and contributions to other international institutions, such as the Common Fund for Commodities and the International Fund for Agricultural Development. These OFID resources are helping to raise living standards among thousands of needy communities around the world.
For detailed information on individual projects, please visit the country profiles pages of the OFID website.