SR2.8bn IDB loan cleared for Egypt

The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) on Tuesday announced loans worth $752 million (SR2.82 billion) to finance development projects in Egypt.
The IDB marked its 40th anniversary with the participation of Crown Prince Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, on the same day.
On arrival at the venue, Crown Prince Salman was greeted by 12 children from among the 1,000 Indonesian minors who were left orphaned by the Tsunami that hit the Southeast Asian country. The orphans have been cared for by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah over the past 15 years and the IDB has been supervising the king’s humanitarian project.
The bank will give $222 million for the Western Cairo Power Generation Plant Expansion Project, $200 million for the Western Dimyat Power Generation Plant Expansion Project and $220 million for the Asyout Steam Power Generation Plant Expansion Project.
The bank has approved a $110 million loan for the rehabilitation and development of irrigation and drainage pumping stations in several agricultural areas of Egypt.
IDB President Ahmed Mohammed Ali and Najla Al-Ahwani, Egyptian minister of international cooperation and the acting IDB governor for Egypt, signed four agreements to finance the projects. They also discussed prospects of expanding cooperation between the two sides.
Egypt is a founding member of the IDB and enjoys close ties with the banking group. IDB’s total finance for Egypt is now $9.6 billion in several sectors, including power, agriculture, education, healthcare, industry, mining and water supplies.