New development funding for China, Benin and Niger
By Anna Ilaria-Mayrhofer
The World Bank Fall Meetings in October afforded OFID the opportunity to strengthen relationships with other development finance institutions and attend meetings about the United Nations 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. As has become the norm, OFID also scheduled loan signing ceremonies with partner countries – this time China, Benin and Niger – on the sidelines of the meetings, which took place in Bali, Indonesia. The loans will
be co-financed with the respective governments of the beneficiary countries and with OFID sister institutions the Islamic Development Bank and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa. Totaling US$80 million, the loans are as follows (see right):
China
US$41.6 million will support the expansion of the Hohhot Mongolian Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine through the construction of a 700-bed medical and care center for the elderly. The new facility will increase and improve in-patient capacity, and offer out- patient services for more than 510,000 people per year.
Niger
A US$15 million loan to Niger is co-funding the Niamey Express Highway project that will rehabilitate a 9.6 km road connecting the Diori Hamami International Airport to the city center, benefiting over 1.2 million people.
OFID helps Cameroon boost energy potential
OFID has signed a term loan of up to €50 million with Nachtigal Hydropower Company (NHPC) for the development, construction and operation of a 420 MW hydropower plant in Cameroon. The Nachtigal Project is being developed as a public private partnership by a joint venture between the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Electricité de France (EDF) and the government of Cameroon, with support from the World Bank Group. Deemed high priority by the government of Cameroon, the plant, once in operation, will be the country’s largest generator of electricity, meeting about one-third of Cameroon’s electricity needs. The project is at the heart of Cameroon’s
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Electricity Sector Development Plan and its quest for low cost electricity. Presently, an estimated nine million people, including the vast majority of Cameroon’s rural population, lacks access to electricity. With an economic investment cost of €1.2 billion over five years, the project is thought to be one of the largest foreign direct investments in Cameroon and is expected to make a significant economic and development impact. About 1,500 people will be employed during the five-year construction phase, providing a solid footing for industrial growth and enhancing the country’s capacity as a future exporter of electricity. OFID’s Assistant Director-
General, Private Sector and Trade
Finance Operations, Tareq Alnassar, explained that OFID’s facilities provide important long-term project finance that help with lowering tariffs and de-risking, and that enhance the overall bankability of projects. This particular loan also demonstrates OFID’s strong partnership with other development finance institutions and its commitment to financing infrastructure in low and middle- income countries. The long-term debt financing
committed to the project was provided by AFC, the African Development Bank, CDC Group, Proparco, FMO, DEG, Agence Française de Développement, the the Emerging Africa Infrastructure Fund, the European Investment
Bank, IFC (acting as DFI Coordinating Bank) and local banks, together with OFID.
€1.2bn
Economic investment cost:
Benin
Benin is receiving US$24 million to upgrade a stretch of road in an area inhabited by more than one million people. The project, titled ‘International Road Corridor Cotonou-Niamey: Beroubouay- Malanville section (169.4 km)’, is expected to promote regional trade between Benin and its landlocked neighbors Niger and Burkina Faso.
PHOTO: World Bank
PHOTO: Deborah Lee Rossiter/
Shutterstock.com
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