Fresh funds approved by OFID’s Governing Board at 153rd session

Vienna, Austria, December 11, 2015. Over 24 partner countries stand to benefit from the latest round of financing approved at the 153rd Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID).

Public sector approvals amount to nearly US$154m and comprise the following:

Bangladesh: US$6m.  Construction of Flyover Bridges in Dhaka (additional loan)

To boost socio-economic development in the capital Dhaka through the construction of a flyover bridge that will ease traffic congestion and increase access to social services.    

Belize: US$11.78m. Airport Link Road

To build a carriageway, bridge and roundabouts, as well as upgrade airport access roads, to decrease traffic congestion in Belize City and improve connectivity, thus providing an easier, cheaper and safer means of transport.    

Côte d’Ivoire: US$11.5m.  Expanding Girls’ Access to Secondary Education

To construct and equip six secondary schools with hostels to accommodate around 9,000 girls to raise enrolment and retention rates. To improve the quality of education, an in-service training scheme will be provided to teachers, advisors and other personnel.    

Egypt: US$40m.  Social Fund for Development (Phase II)

To support the provision of funding to micro- and small enterprises (MSEs), targeting marginalized groups and businesses that will create the most jobs. The project is expected to help establish and expand about 7,500 MSEs, leading to around 23,000 employment opportunities.   

Liberia: US$20m.  Upgrading of Gbarnga-Salayea Road

To pave an 81km earth stretch that runs through a major agricultural area. At least 142,000 people will benefit from year-round access to social services and marketplaces, which will in turn help improve livelihoods and reduce poverty.

Madagascar. US$10m.  Soanierana Ivongo-North Mananara Road (RN5) Rehabilitation

To upgrade a 75.6km earth road and build bridges and drainage works in the northeast region of Analanjirofo, populated by 2.6 million people. This will help ensure year-round travel to social amenities and jobs, and unlock an area with rich agricultural resources.    

Nicaragua. US$10m.  Caribbean Coast Rural Electrification

To provide electrical energy services to off-grid households in high-poverty areas. The project is expected to enhance socioeconomic development and raise living standards considerably in the targeted communities.    

Niger: US$15m.  Tébaram-Tahoua Road

To upgrade a 92km earth road in order to facilitate the movement of goods and people, and reduce transport costs. This will enable around 400,000 people to gain access to social services and jobs, as well as ease the transport of agricultural inputs and cash crops.    

Senegal: US$15m.  Ourossogui-Hamady Ounaré Road Rehabilitation

This project will repair 52km of road to improve the populations’ access to social infrastructure and open up areas with high agricultural potential, benefiting around 600,000 people.    

Uganda: US$14.3m.  Vocational Education Project, Phase II

To help complete construction of nine vocational facilities, each with girls’ dormitories, increasing annual enrolments by over 800 pupils and providing accommodations for over 1,000 girls. Also planned is the provision of equipment, teaching materials and staff training.    

Grant funding totaling US$3.36m was also approved for the following projects/programs:

ECOWAS Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE)

US$860,000. To provide communities, businesses, small enterprises and public buildings with access to modern energy services through the implementation of mini-grid schemes in Benin, Cape Verde, Senegal and Sierra Leone. Over 4,200 people are expected to directly benefit from the project.

Foundation for the Social Promotion of Culture (FPSC)

US$400,000. To improve the socioeconomic prospects of disadvantaged women in the Gran Asunción metropolitan area in Paraguay and indigenous women from small rural communities in Guatemala. This will include providing vocational training courses and coaching, as well as building a vocational training center in Paraguay.

United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)

US$500,000. To support a project that will improve water and sanitation infrastructure and services, and carry out hygiene promotion campaigns in Haiti to reduce the incidence of cholera in high-risk areas.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) 

US$500,000. To support the second phase of an HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support program in Afghanistan, Nepal and Pakistan for women who use drugs, are in prison settings or have spouses who are drug users.
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). US$500,000. To provide safe, reliable alternative (solar, biogas) energy solutions to around 3,000 people in seven rural and marginalized areas in Palestine to improve livelihoods and living standards.

United Nations Development Program/Program of Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP) 

US$600,000. To expand and upgrade the chemotherapy department at the Augusta Victoria Hospital and provide equipment and furniture to boost access to cancer treatment services in the occupied Palestinian territories, including Jerusalem.

Five financing facilities totalling US$87m were also approved under OFID’s private sector business activities. Two will support financial institutions in expanding their lending activities to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Another will support a lending institution that extends loans to small and medium-sized agribusinesses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Financing will also be provided in support of an agricultural production facility in Mozambique and to help improve the generation and transmission of electricity in Zambia.

Under OFID’s trade finance facility, US$10m was approved to a financing facility that supports import and export related financial transactions for corporates in Georgia.