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- Press Release
Press Release
OFID releases US$157 million in fresh financing for development
18/2007 June 14, 2007, Pörtschach, Carinthia, Austria,
Press inquiries:
New financing of US$157 million was approved today at the 119th Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID). The funds will support 13 projects in needy countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Commenting on the latest contribution, OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, said that these projects targeted a “wide range of key sectors” that promote development and enhance food security. The projects, he added, also aim to secure jobs and ease isolation.
An additional US$5.14 million was made available in debt relief to two Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs), and a further US$5.95 million released for grant assistance.
The 13 public sector project loans comprise:
| Country | Project | Amount (US$mil.) |
| Bangladesh | Balancing, Modernization, Rehabilitation and Expansion of Eastern Refinery | 30.00 |
| Benin | Cotonou East Coast Protection | 8.00 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Railways Reconstruction (Sarajevo-Bradina Section I) | 12.00 |
| The Gambia | Highway and Streets Lighting | 4.00 |
| Ghana | Primary Schools | 8.50 |
| Honduras | Complementary Works for the CA-5 North Road | 5.00 |
| Jamaica | Rural Roads Rehabilitation, Phase II | 20.00 |
| Kenya | Bura Irrigation Rehabilitation | 6.00 |
| Lebanon | Northern Coastal Road, Phase II | 10.00 |
| Myanmar | Thonze and Kabaung Irrigation | 20.00 |
| The Sudan | Rahad Scheme Rehabilitation | 20.60 |
| Vietnam | Lai Chau Province Irrigation Development | 7.00 |
| Zambia | Copperbelt Feeder Road Rehabilitation | 6.00 |
| Total | 157.10 |
Of the five grants approved, one will be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for HIV/AIDS Operations to combat the disease in Latin America and the Caribbean. Another will be drawn from the Special Grant Account for Palestine that will go towards the production of some 9.4 million textbooks. The remaining three grants will help finance the purchase of radiotherapy equipment for treating cancer in Uruguay; one will go towards agricultural research while the last will support rehabilitation services for the disabled in Vietnam (see press release 19\2007).
Since its inception, OFID has provided more than US$8.5 billion in much needed concessional development financing to 120 developing countries.