Kuwaiti fund sign $56 mln loan with Morocco

Morocco and the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) signed in Rabat on Friday an agreement under which the Kuwait-based fund grants Morocco a loan worth $56 million (17 million Kuwaiti Dinars) to help finance the construction of a dam and a water supply project in the southern city of Agadir.

The agreement was signed by Moroccan economy and finance minister, fathallah Oualalou, and the Fund's executive manager, Abdellatif Youssef Al-Hamad.

A finance ministry statement said the loan will help fund the building of a dam and supply water to Agadir, 614 km south of Rabat.

The loan will be repayable over a 22-year period with a five year-grace period and 4.5% interest rate.

The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding under which the Fund would grant Morocco's School of Sciences of Rabat a technical assistance worth $ 9,700.

Between 1975 and 1999, the Fund has granted Morocco $ 1.4 billion worth of loans for various development projects.