Arab Bank offers loans to Zambia, Benin, Ethiopia
The Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) has concluded loan agreements worth $25.6 million dollars with Zambia, Benin and Ethiopia, the Pan-African news agency "PANA" reports quoting a press statement of the bank released Sunday.
According to a loan agreement signed at BADEA offices on Saturday, the bank has offered Zambia a loan of $10.7 million dollars to help finance a road project in Mongu-Kalabo, western Zambia and another loan of three million dollars to build a technical secondary school at Kapiri Mposhi in the north of the country.
The loans, repayable in 22 years with a five-year grace, carry an interest rate of 2.5 percent annually.
BADEA has also concluded a $7.46 million loan agreement with Benin to help finance the reclamation of forests in Agoua, Kouffe and Wari-Maro Highlands project. The loan is repayable in 18 years, including a grace period of five years and an annual 3% interest rate.
With Ethiopia, the bank signed a $4.5 million loan to the country's Development Bank, to support small agricultural and agro-industrial projects. The loan is repayable in 12 years and carries a 3-year grace period and an annual 4% interest rate.
The bank, established by the Arab summit of 1973 started operating in 1975 to support Arab-Afro economic, financial and technical cooperation. To date, the Bank has approved a total of 2.3 billion soft loans to African countries.
