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Press Release
OFID Governing Board approves new loans and grants at its 130th session
06/2010 March 17, 2010, Vienna, Austria
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The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), meeting in its 130th Session yesterday, approved US$108 million in new financing. The funds will go to support nine projects in various countries in Africa, Asia and Europe. Commenting on the loans, OFID Director-General, Mr. Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, said that the bulk of the funding would support projects aimed at improving vital transport corridors and helping reduce energy poverty in low-income villages. “OFID insures that its financing is directed towards sectors that its partner countries deem most important, rather than imposing priorities of its own,” noted the Director-General.
The nine public sector loans comprise:
| Country | Project | Amount (US$mil.) |
| Albania | Secondary and Local Roads (Phase II) | 10.00 |
| Cameroon | Limbe Shipyard | 22.50 |
| Ethiopia | Jijiga - Degehabur Power Transmission | 20.00 |
| Kenya | Nuno-Modagashe Road Upgrading | 12.00 |
| Kyrgyz Republic | Reconstruction of Bishkek - Torugart Road | 7.40 |
| Lebanon | Hilly Areas Sustainable Agriculture Development | 8.40 |
| Lesotho | Tikoe Industrial Park | 8.40 |
| Rwanda | Kitabi - Crête Congo Nil Road | 10.00 |
| Yemen | Vocational Training and Skills Development | 9.10 |
| Total | 107.80 |
Four grants totaling US$6.65 million were also approved at the meeting. A grant of US$3 million will support an OFID/UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime) joint program entitled Effective HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care among Vulnerable Groups in Central Asia and Eastern Europe – Phase II. Activities will be carried out in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. A US$2.6 million grant will be channeled through the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development and distributed among 35 Palestinian NGOs that are providing vital assistance in the areas of education, health, agriculture and community development. Another grant of US$700,000 will be extended to the National Cancer Institute in Egypt to co-finance the purchase of a Da Vinci surgical system; a state-of-the-art piece of equipment that allows for safer surgery, reduced operating time and shorter hospital stays. Finally, a US$350,000 grant will help sponsor the 18th International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2010), which will be held in Vienna, Austria, on July 18-23. Proceeds from the grant will enable around 135 candidates from least-developed countries to attend the event.
Since its inception, OFID has provided over US$11.6 billion in much-needed concessional development financing to 123 developing countries around the world, with priority given to the poorest amongst them
