WB offers $200M. for development projects

"The World Bank (WB) has agreed to provide $200 million in loans this year to finance a variety of key social and technological development projects," a WB spokesman said yesterday.

"Egyptian and WB representatives worked together to identify up to 12 priority projects in Egypt to receive the loans, defining four main fields for cooperation in the coming three years," Mahmoud Ayoub, Head of the Egyptian Bureau at the WB, pointed out.

"These fields cover human resources and social development, especially education and health; agriculture and water; Information Technology (IT) and infrastructure projects; and creating a financing programme to encourage the private sector to enter the IT field," Ayoub elaborated.

Projects selected for financing will be referred to WB Board meeting in Washington in April for approval.

Ayoub stressed that the Egyptian government has emphasised its commitment to development through effective steps aimed at reducing unemployment, raising the growth rate to seven percent annually, and boosting exports.