Press Release

OPEC Fund supports construction industry in Yemen

46/2005 April 21, 2005, Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed a US$5 million loan agreement with the Radfan for Manufacturing Construction Materials Company Limited of Yemen. The loan will co-finance the establishment of a modern clay hollow brick factory near Aden, the country’s second largest city.

The Yemeni market for construction materials is large and growing. With a scarcity of affordable, quality products, clay bricks are increasing in popularity as an alternative to stone and cement blocks.

The Radfan factory will be built over an area of 13,000 m², close to a clay quarry, and will have an installed capacity of 180,000 tons of clay products per year. The new undertaking will bring state-of-the-art technology and efficient management to the sector and create around 90 new jobs.

Today’s loan agreement represents the Fund’s first private sector operation in Yemen, although the Fund has co-financed around 30 projects and programs in the country’s public sector. These public sector loans amount to over US$196 million. Yemen has also received numerous grants from the Fund, including two to cover its subscription to the Common Fund for Commodities. In June 2000, an agreement for the encouragement and protection of investment was signed between the Fund and the government of Yemen.

Today’s agreement was signed in Vienna on behalf of the Radfan for Manufacturing Construction Materials Company Ltd., by Mr. Hussein Mohamed Al sawary, Chairman, and by H.E. Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund.