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Press Release
OFID approves eight new public sector loans at its 128th session of the Governing Board
44/2009 October 12, 2009 Vienna, Austria
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New financing totaling nearly US$170 million was approved at the 128th Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), which held on October 9 in Vienna, Austria. The funds will support eight projects in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Commenting on the loans, OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish said: “The strengthening of transportation infrastructure continues to be a priority among many OFID partner countries, as can be seen from the agreements signed today. OFID is delighted to be in a position to help its partners build this important pillar of development."
The eight public sector loans comprise:
| Country | Project | Amount (US$mil.) |
| Botswana | Integrated Transport. | 40.00 |
| China | Gansu Healthcare | 10.00 |
| Cuba | Las Tunas Province Water Supply System Rehabilitation | 17.00 |
| Malawi | Teacher Training Colleges | 11.00 |
| Philippines | Road Sector Institutional Development and Investment Program | 30.00 |
| Tajikistan | Kulyab-Kalaikhum Road | 13.00 |
| Tanzania | Poverty Reduction, Phase II | 12.00 |
| Turkey | Ankara-Istanbul Railway Upgrading (loan approved for Euro 25 million) | 36.80 |
| Total | 169.80 |
In addition, five grants totaling US$8.4 million were approved at the meeting. A US$3.5 million grant will co-finance an OFID/IAVI (International AIDS Vaccine Initiative) partnership, with the aim to foster the development of an AIDS vaccine. The grant will be drawn from the Special Grant Account for HIV/AIDS Operations. Another grant of US$2.5 million, to be drawn from OFID’s Special Grant Account for Palestine, will be distributed among 25 civil society organizations in the West Bank, Palestine. Also approved was a US$1 million grant to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. The funds will support the return and reintegration of Mauritanian refugees presently residing in Mali and Senegal. Furthermore, a US$800,000 grant will back a physical rehabilitation program for the disabled in Eastern Africa. The funds will be channeled through the International Committee of the Red Cross Special Fund for the Disabled. Finally, US$600,000 will help fund the upgrading of radiology equipment at the King Hussein Cancer Center in Jordan.
Since its inception in 1976, OFID has provided over US$11.1 billion in much-needed concessional development financing to 121 developing countries around the world, with priority given to the poorest amongst them.
