OFID Governing Board Approves New Loans and Grants for Africa

VIENNA, Austria, June 17, 2011 -

The Governing Board of the OPEC Fund for International
Development (OFID), meeting in its 135^th Session, has
approved over US$56 million in loans and US$ 6 million in grants to
address Africa’s needs. The funds will be allocated to the energy,
transportation, agriculture, health and financial sectors.

The public sector loans comprise:  

                                                                      Amount

    Country    Project                                            (US$ mil.)
               Agricultural Value Chain Development Program: To
               help reduce poverty and improve food security, in
               seven provinces populated by some 3.6 million
    Burundi    people.                                                 11.92
               Bikoula - Djoum Road: To construct a 38 km road in
               order to open up rural areas, especially in the
               South Region, and help improve the access to basic
    Cameroon   social services and marketplaces.                       10.00
               Energy Development and Access Expansion: To expand
               the electricity grid to cover disadvantaged areas in
               the Kanifing Municipality and rural settlements. At
               least 10,000 new household connections and 1,700
    The Gambia business connections will be installed.                  6.00
               Rural Electrification: To help the socio-economic
               development through the electrification of 591 "load
               centers," such as agricultural marketing and
               processing centers; health facilities and
               educational institutions. Installing new connections
    Kenya      for about 35,460 households is also planned.            15.00
               Artisanal Fisheries Promotion: To improve incomes
               and livelihoods of households involved in artisanal
               fishing. An estimated 45,000 people will directly
    Mozambique benefit from the project.                               13.53
    Total                                                              56.45

In addition, five grants for the Africa region totalling US$5.95
million were approved. A US$2 million grant will further of a WHO
project to fight against HIV in Lesotho, South Africa, Zambia and
Zimbabwe. Another grant of US$1.5 million will help finance a food
security and livelihood enhancement program of IFAD, which will
carry out activities in Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia. A US$1.2
million grant will be divided among eight research centers. To be
channelled through the Institut Pasteur, a US$1 million
grant will support a project to upgrade a laboratory network for
diagnosing tuberculosis in eight African Countries. Finally, a
US$250,000 grant will help fund the provision of an initiative of
the Shell Foundation, to provide light for low-income households,
reaching 130,000 people, in Kenya and Tanzania.

Mrs. Damelys Delgado
Information Officer
Email: D.Delgado@ofid.org
Tel.: +43-1-515-64-304

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