Press Release

OFID signs US$15 million private sector loan agreement with Paraguayan river transport company

38/2008 December 1, 2008 Vienna, Austria
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The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID )has signed a US$15 million private sector loan agreement with UABL Paraguay Limited. The agreement was signed by Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, and Mr. Felipe Menéndez Ross, CEO and President of UABL.

The loan will be used to modernize and expand UABL’s fleet of vessels and procure more efficient and cleaner engines. Mr. Al-Herbish said “OFID recognizes the important contribution UABL is making to the Paraguayan economy” and described the company as a “pioneer in developing the transport of bulk commodities on the Parana River System.” The Director-General said that he hoped the collaboration would “form a basis for further close cooperation in the future.”

Mr. Menéndez thanked Mr. Al-Herbish for OFID’s support and confidence in the company and its project, which would “help millions of farmers transport their produce to markets.” In addition to enhancing the quality of life for the beneficiary population, Mr. Menéndez said, the conversion to cleaner engines would “bring about positive changes to the environment.” He then invited the Director-General to visit UABL in Paraguay, after the project is completed so that he could see the beneficial outcomes OFID helped bring about.

UABL is the largest owner and operator of river barges and push-boats that transport export cargo such as soy and iron ore, as well as oil imports through the Hidrovia Region of South America. The region is crossed by navigable rivers that flow through Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay to ports serviced by ocean export vessels. The 2,200 mile-long river system offers the optimal means of transporting bulk cargos through the area.

This financing represents the second loan agreement that OFID has signed with Paraguay’s private sector. In addition, OFID has approved eight public sector operations totaling US$ 55.1 million. The country has also benefited from a grant of US$150,000 for an education initiative in the capital Asunción.