DUSHANBE, March 28, Asia-Plus /Zarrina Ergasheva/ — Today, Wednesday March 28, a loan agreement for 4 million Kuwaiti dinars, equivalent to nearly $13.8 million, was singed in Dushanbe between the Government of Tajikistan, represented by Finance Minister Safarali Najmuddinov, and the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED), represented by Hamad S. al-Omar.
According to the National Bank of Tajikistan (NBT), the amount of this soft loan is allocated for co-financing a vital project in the agrarian project, namely; the irrigation of the Danghara steppe project in Tajikistan, which will support increase in production of farm produce in southern Tajikistan.
The source at Tajik central bank said that the loan carries an annual interest rate of 1.5 percent and is repayable over 24 years with a four-year grace period on principal payments.
A total area of the Danghara steppe in the Khatlon province is 1,750 hectares. The project includes rehabilitation of some 2.5 kilometers of the main irrigation canal of Danghara, 7 kilometers of canal # 2 and some 7.3 kilometers of canal # 3 as well as rehabilitation of an appropriate structure for irrigation and drainage networks. The project is expected to be finished in four year.
The NBT source noted that after the agreement-signing ceremony the Tajik minister had expressed gratitude to KFAED for assistance and support to promote development of Tajikistan’s economy. Najmuddinov stressed that the Kuwaiti Fund has successfully cooperated with Tajikistan in implementing a number of joint projects aimed at enhancement of transportation and energy sectors in the country, the source said.
A total cost of projects being implemented jointly with KFAED in Tajikistan is $38.3 million, according to the minister.
KFAED is a Kuwaiti public corporation established by the State of Kuwait in order to provide assistance to Arab and other developing countries in developing their economies. It was established on December 31, 1961 and commenced its operations in March 1962.
