The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) on Tuesday approved the financing of ten new operations for a total of 242 billion CFA francs.
The meeting, held in Bissau on 28 March in the hybrid format of its 134th ordinary session, was an opportunity for the financial institution to make new commitments in favour of the region’s economic operators.
Ten new operations totalling 242 billion CFA francs were examined by the members of the Board of Directors. These include a 25 billion CFA franc short-term loan to Vista Group Holding SA in Burkina Faso. The purpose of this loan is to provide financial support to the group as part of the operation known as ORA SPV HOLDING.
BOAD will also support Project 2 of the Sahel Programme for Strengthening Resilience to Food and Nutritional Insecurity (P2-P2RS) in Niger for an amount of 16 billion CFA francs. The aim of the project is to help reduce poverty and improve the living conditions, food security and nutrition of the population in the intervention zone.
Senegal will benefit from 11 billion CFA francs for the same project. The funds will be used for the hydro-agricultural development of 640 ha of land, the mechanical and biological restoration of 2000 ha of degraded agricultural land and pastures, the development of 100 km of firebreaks and 250 ha of corridors. The funds will also be used to set up agro-sylvo-pastoral and fishery processing units to promote value chains.
Also in Senegal, the programme for the development of roads and various networks (VRD) and the construction of structuring infrastructures for the Diass Special Integrated Economic Zone (ZESID) will benefit from 30 billion.
In Guinea-Bissau, the emergency project to strengthen the resilience of agricultural stakeholders (PUR-KEBUR) will receive 25 billion CFA francs. Among other things, the project will provide 12,000 tonnes of emergency food aid to vulnerable populations. It will also intensify rice and vegetable production on a total area of 15,000 hectares by providing small producers with inputs and agricultural mechanisation equipment such as tractors, power tillers and combine harvesters.
In the same country, 15 billion will be used to improve urban roads and sanitation in the city of Bissau. The implementation of the project will contribute to improving urban mobility and the living conditions of the population in the area.
In Mali, BOAD will support the 45 billion CFA franc debt relief programme for strategic suppliers of Société Energie du Mali (EDM-SA). The operation will help ensure the continuity of electricity supply to the Malian population and support the country’s economic and social development.
In addition, the Bank will release 15 billion CFA francs to partially guarantee a short-term facility to be granted by Banque Atlantique Côte d’Ivoire (BACI) to Compagnie Ivoirienne d’Electricité (CIE). It will enable the short-term financing of CIE’s cash flow needs.
20 million will also be provided for the construction of the evacuation network associated with the CIPREL 5 and AZITO 4 thermal power stations in Côte d’Ivoire. This operation complements a previous grant for this project approved by the Board of Directors at its meeting in June 2020. It will ensure the evacuation and injection of electrical energy produced by the CIPREL 5 and AZITO 4 power plants into the interconnected grid in order to guarantee the supply of electrical energy and thus contribute to improving the quality of service.
Finally, 40 billion CFA francs will be allocated to the construction of 4,300 social and economic housing units in Côte d’Ivoire: Tranche 1 of the 1,160 units in Abidjan PK 24. The overall project involves the construction of housing in Abidjan, PK24 (2360), Yamoussoukro (420) and Bouaké (1520).
Three plots of land totalling 23 hectares will also be developed in these three cities. In Abidjan, this operation, which is the BOAD’s first intervention in the project, concerns 1160 housing units in the Yopougon PK 24 industrial zone and the development of the site.
According to the BOAD, these new approvals, for a total amount of 242 billion CFA francs, bring the total amount of its commitments since the beginning of its activities to 7,469.3 billion CFA francs.
ARD/ac/lb/abj/APA