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- OFID’s Governing Board approves over US$454 million of new funding
OFID’s Governing Board approves over US$454 million of new funding
Vienna, Austria, December 13, 2017. The 161st Session of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved more than US$454 million of new development funding to benefit developing countries across the globe.
OFID’s newly-approved public sector loans, which total nearly US$323 million, will support the following projects/programs:
Bangladesh: US$30m. SASEC Road Connectivity (supplementary loan)
To promote socio-economic development by facilitating domestic and regional trade in Bangladesh. The project will upgrade part of the Dhaka-Northwest Corridor, the Joydebpur-Chandra-Tangail-Elenga road, to a four-lane highway. Improvements will also be carried out at two land ports at Benapole and Burimari.
Belize: US$40m. Upgrading of Caracol Road, Phase I
To upgrade a 42.5km stretch that provides the sole link between the George Price Highway and the Caracol Archaeological Site in the Cayo district, an area heavily reliant on agriculture and tourism. The improved road will help ease travel constraints and boost income-generation, thus helping reduce poverty for 30,000 people; some 50,000 people are expected to benefit indirectly from the project.
Bolivia: US$30m. Santa Cruz – Las Cruces – Buena Vista Road
To provide a bypass for Bolivia’s most heavily populated city – Santa Cruz de la Sierra, with circa 1.75 million inhabitants. The planned 81km road will divert heavy traffic between southern towns and the western-located main trade corridors. This will in turn reduce travel time, improve connectivity and help promote local and international trade.
Burkina Faso: US$16.8m. Koudougou University Expansion
To raise the quality of higher education by constructing and equipping facilities totaling nearly 29,000 km2. This will include dormitories to accommodate 1,500 students and new teaching, administrative and social facilities. The project will not only provide a better academic environment but also help fulfil the country’s need for a more qualified workforce. Approximately 18,500 on-campus students are expected to benefit.
China: US$35m. Shaanxi Vocational Education
To address a shortage of skilled workers by building a new Chang’an Campus at the Shaanxi Youth Vocational College that will replace two distant facilities. This will provide a market-oriented education for around 9,000 young job-seekers per year. In addition, the project is expected to attract around 6,000 skilled laborers each year seeking additional training.
Djibouti: US$14m. Tadjoura Port Access Road
To connect the Tadjoura port to the Tadjoura-Balho road, which links Djibouti’s northern region to the Ethiopian border. Once completed, the anticipated increase in trade levels and overall economic activity will boost socio-economic development and create job opportunities for some 200,000 people living in one of the poorest areas in the country.
Kyrgyz Republic: US$10m. lssyk-Kul Ring Road (Korumdu-Karakol Section 2N)
To upgrade a 116km section of road that serves 17 urban / semi-urban settlements populated by around 700,000 people. On completion the project will increase access to social services, marketplaces and production centers, thereby opening economic opportunities and improving living conditions.
Madagascar: US$20m. Inclusive Agriculture Transformation Program (DEFIS)
To be implemented in eight high-poverty regions in the south and east-central part of the country, the program aims to boost incomes and food security for around 1.6 million farmers. This will be done through the introduction of high-performing production systems adapted to climate change.
Nicaragua: US$30m. Rural Roads Development
To reduce poverty and promote economic development in rural regions in the north and central part of the country by upgrading over 37km of roads and constructing new bridges. This will facilitate the socio-economic integration of the targeted areas with the rest of the country, benefiting around 100,000 people.
Rwanda: US$20m. Rwanda Sustainable Water Supply & Sanitation Program
Works will include the rehabilitation and extension of water supply networks and construction of sanitation infrastructure in Kigali City and six satellite cities. This will reduce waterborne diseases and related healthcare costs, thereby improving living conditions and helping reduce poverty for nearly 1.6 million people.
Sri Lanka: US$50m. Technological Education Development Program
To improve technology disciplines in 337 secondary schools by constructing new buildings and renovating existing ones; creating a maintenance fund; and, upgrading / purchasing equipment. A capacity-building component for teachers, education officers and curriculum developers is also planned. Circa 10,000 students per year will benefit from the program, as well as 1,600 administrators and teachers.
Zambia: US$12m. Enhanced Smallholder Livestock Investment Program (E-SLIP)
The program will target key livestock systems of smallholder producers in selected provinces and districts through three main components: animal disease control, livestock production systems and program management. While national in scope, the program will place a strong focus on districts experiencing a high incidence of endemic livestock diseases, thereby reducing poverty for nearly 213,000 smallholders.
Zimbabwe: US$15m. Smallholder Irrigation Revitalization Program
To reduce rural poverty and enhance food security for 25,000 small-scale, low-income farming households (comprising around 125,000 people) in four rural regions. This will be done by rehabilitating infrastructure, providing related equipment and materials, and delivering training and workshops. The project will also support the development of new irrigation sub-projects at a national level.
Other approvals include 11 grants totaling US$7.56 million. The grants support the following organizations:
CODESPA
US$200,000. To improve living conditions for women in 23 rural communities in Nicaragua’s Jinotega department. This will involve capacity building and providing technical assistance to create and manage five seed banks; establishing and strengthening five community-based women's associations; and outreach activities for the advancement of women’s rights at the municipal level, including the establishment of a ‘Gender Policy.’
Energy4Impact
US$1 million. To improve the livelihoods of Rwanda’s smallholder farmers and support food security by driving up the adoption of small scale solar irrigation (SSSI). Activities will include outreach schemes to raise awareness of the benefits of SSSI; providing training and support to farmers; and working with local banks to implement financing schemes. More than 15,000 people are expected to benefit, including 3,000 farmers and their families.
Entrepreneurs du monde
US$700,000. To enhance access to clean and affordable energy for rural populations in Burkina Faso, the Philippines and Togo with the view to improve living conditions and protect the environment, while bolstering the local economy. This will be done by expanding the range of available energy solutions, focusing on LPG cooking solutions and solar home systems. The proposed project is expected to benefit nearly 55,000 people directly (and benefit almost 250,000 people indirectly).
International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics. (ICRISAT)
US$600,000. To help alleviate rural poverty, improve livelihoods and enhance food security among impoverished smallholder farmers in Bangladesh, India, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. The project will focus on increasing the productivity and profitability of groundnut cultivation by developing new strains with traits such as drought and disease tolerance and early maturation. Around 15,000 smallholders will directly benefit from the project; and 75,000 individuals will benefit indirectly through access to improved groundnut varieties and integrated crop management technologies.
Institute Pasteur
US$1 million. To enable west and central African countries to better identify Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (TB) cases for treatment with a new drug regimen. Among other activities, the project will carry out capacity building and consolidate a regional network of national TB reference laboratories. Additionally, it will implement an extensive training component to optimize capacity. The project is expected to benefit over 210,000 people diagnosed with TB. Targeted countries will be: Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo DR, Djibouti, Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Cabo Verde, Madagascar and Mali.
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
US$1 million. To improve the resilience and incomes of around 35,000 smallholders and landless rural producers in the West Bank by enhancing access to agricultural land and water sources, as well as strengthening their resilience to climate variability and change. The project will also help communities increase the production and marketing of agricultural produce and develop micro-enterprises managed by women and youth.
International Potato Center (CIP)
US$400,000. To boost food security and improve nutrition and livelihoods among small-scale farmers by promoting sustainable agriculture systems in Peru and Bolivia. Activities will include implementing ‘Farmer Business Schools’ to strengthen the entrepreneurial capacities of smallholders. Also planned is a screening program to identify late blight disease-resistant potato species with the view to increase and/or maintain the species’ genetic diversity. At least 1,000 farmers are expected to benefit directly from the project, the results of which will be published in an open source databank, thus potentially benefiting millions of farmers and researchers.
International Water Association
US$400,000. To ensure safe water supplies and safeguard public health by improving the capacity of African water utilities to boost their resilience to extreme weather events. OFID’s grant will target five suburban towns in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya and Senegal. The project is expected to directly benefit the water utilities companies’ staff and at least 100,000 customers in the targeted countries.
Solar Electric Light Fund
US$500,000. This grant will co-fund two projects. The first will install solar-powered drinking water stations at 21 sites in Benin. It will also establish a local water business at each station and train water operators, benefiting approximately 16,100 people. The second will implement the second year of a two–year vocational training course in Haiti for photovoltaic technicians.
United Nations Development Programme Assistance to the Palestinian People (UNDP/PAPP)
US$1.16 million. To carry out medium-sized development projects in Jerusalem and Gaza. These will include extension of the Cancer Department at the Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem which will enable treatment for around 4,500 patients/year; establishing a center for the visually impaired in the Gaza Strip to treat circa 400 children/year; and installing small-scale desalination units for educational institutions in the Gaza Strip, benefiting some 31,000 students.
Welfare Association
US$600,000. To improve and sustain the provision of health services in the Gaza Strip against a backdrop of acute and chronic energy shortages. The project will address power supply challenges at seven selected health facilities in Gaza via solar power systems. Approximately 450,000 patients will benefit annually from improved health services.
Under OFID’s private sector facility, five financing facilities totaling US$114 million were approved. Two will help enhance the energy sectors in Armenia and Jordan; two others will support financial institutions in Cambodia and Nicaragua in expanding their lending to micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises. The facility will also help strengthen the capital base of the Nicaraguan institution. Also approved was a loan to help expand cement production in Pakistan. Under OFID’s trade finance operations, US$10 million was approved to support international trade activities in Turkey.