OFID okays US$580m for operations in developing countries

Media IN Vienna, Austria, June 12, 2019.

OFID – the OPEC Fund for International Development – has approved more than US$580 million of new funding to benefit developing countries across the globe. The 167th Session of OFID’s Governing Board approved the funding at the organization’s Vienna headquarters.

The public sector loans, amounting to US$387 million, will support the following projects:

• CUBA: West Havana sanitation and pluvia Drainage. A sum of US $25million will be used to reduce environmental pollution and improve health indicators and living conditions, benefiting an estimated 73,000 people.
• Egypt: Micro, small and medium Enterprise Development (MSMED) III. A total of US $ 95mln will be used  to help create around 33,000 job opportunities and boost self-employment through the extension of small loans to MSMEs and local banks, NGOs and microfinance institutions.
• Ghana: Eastern Corridor Development Program (Phase I). A sum of US $20 million will be used to construct a 40km road and repair a 24 km stretch to improve domestic/ regional trade and stimulate economic development for approximately 230,000 people
• Liberia: Upgrading of Konia-Voinjama Road. A sum of US$ 25million will be used to pave a 64km road in northern Liberia, improving the transport of agricultural goods and increasing food security and incomes for around 43,000 people.
• Mozambique: Temane Transmission Project (TREP/TTP). A total of US $ 36million will be used to install a 563km transmission system from Temane to the capital Maputo and upgrade/ build sub-stations in Southern Mozambique.
• Oman: Alsharqiya Expressway Tunnels. A fee of US $ 13 million will be used to construct two expressway tunnels to improve connections between the north and eastern regions, enhance trade and provide efficient transport for around one million people.
• Rwanda: Rwanda Sustainable Water Supply & Sanitation Program – Phase II. A sum of US$20 million will be used to construct eight water supply systems to serve 14 districts. Access is expected to rise from 30 to nearly 100 percent – improving living standards for approximately 5.4 million people.
• Senegal: Support to agricultural Development and rural Entrepreneurship program-phase II (PADAER II). A sum of US $10 million will be used to construct infrastructure for circa 437,000 small producers to increase yield and create more jobs- with a focus on women and youth.
• Sierra Leone: Education Sector Support. A total of US$ 20 million will be used to reconstruct and rehabilitate four public secondary schools, a teacher training college and a polytechnic to ease overcrowding and accommodate rising enrolments.
• Suriname: Health Facilities Improvement (Supplementary Loan). A sum of US$ 6million will be used to cover funding gaps related to a hospital in the capital Paramaribo and primary healthcare facilities across the country serving approximately 300,000 people/year.