AfDB approves $3.45b worth of projects in African countries

The African Development Bank Group has so far made project approvals of approximately $3.45 billion for African countries during the year 2012.

The Group, on July 24, 2012, said, in total, 52 projects were approved as at July 18, 2012.

“The African Development Bank part of the Group made approvals totalling some $1.6 billion while the African Development Fund (ADF), the Group’s concessional or ‘soft loan’ arm was the source of finance for $1.43 billion worth of project approvals,” the Group said in statement.

The remaining approvals, according the AfDB, were made by other sources of funding within the Group such as the Nigeria Trust Fund, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Fragile States Facility and the Congo Basin Forest Fund.

The public sector accounted for just over $956 million of the Bank’s approvals, while private sector approvals totalled over $638 million.

In details, of approvals made by the ADF, the Bank said $852.4 million were made in the form of loans while $579.5 million were funded as grants.

Infrastructure projects accounted for the largest approvals as the Bank said the largest project approval so far for 2012 is the Integrated Wind/Hydro and Rural Electrification Programme in Morocco, which is funded by a loan of €359 million from the Bank and a further loan of $125 million from the CIF.

It adds that another major infrastructure project approval in Morocco during 2012 was the first phase of the Ouarzazate Solar Power Station project, funded by a loan of €168 million from the Bank and a CIF loan of $100 million.

By Ekow Quandzie