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Press Release
OFID provides US$142 million to boost development efforts
34/2008 November 5, 2008 Vienna, Austria
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Thirteen developing countries in Africa, Asia and Europe are to benefit from fresh financing extended November 4-5 by OFID (the OPEC Fund for International Development). The loans were signed on behalf of OFID by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, Director-General, along with representatives of beneficiary countries. Commenting about the loans, Mr. Al-Herbish stated that “OFID is pleased to support such a wide range of sectors in our partner countries, and we believe that this financing will do much to promote their socio-economic development.”
The financing, totalling US$142.4 million, will support projects with a wide variety of development objectives. Aims include rehabilitation and/or construction of transport infrastructure, upgrading of water supply and irrigation systems, as well as the promotion of rural development. A trade finance loan and a private sector line of credit are also included in this latest round of financing.
The breakdown of the loans is as follows:
| Country | Project | Amount (US$mil.) |
| Albania | Secondary and Local Roads (Phase I) |
15.00 |
| Bangladesh | Emergency Disaster Damage Rehabilitation |
20.00 |
| Burkina Faso | Small-Scale Irrigation and Water Management | 4.00 |
| Burundi | Bubanza-Ntamba Road | 10.00 |
| Cameroon | Chari/Logone Integrated Rural Development | 6.00 |
| Madagascar | Support Program for Rural Micro Enterprise Poles and Regional Economies (PROSPERER) | 5.00 |
| Mauritania | Aftout Es-Saheli Water Supply (Phase II) | 8.40 |
| Morocco | Taskourt Dam Construction (Phase I) | 20.00 |
| Pakistan | Golan Gol Hydropower | 30.00 |
| Papua New Guinea | Lae Port Development | 6.00 |
| São Tomé & Principe | São Tomé Water Supply | 2.50 |
| Vietnam | Ha Tinh Province Irrigation Development | 10.50 |
| Private sector & trade finance | ||
| Armenia | Inecobank (Line of credit) | 3.00 |
| Armenia | Inecobank (Trade finance loan) | 2.00 |
| Total | 142.40 |
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$9.8 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 recently-established 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.
For detailed information on individual projects, please visit the country profile pages of the OFID website.