DUSHANBE, March 13, 2010, Asia-Plus — The Government of Tajikistan plans to attract a US13 million loan from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) for construction the road to China, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF).
A loan agreement with OFID on this subject is expected to be signed in Vienna on March 23, 2010, the source at a MoF said. According to him, the loan will go to funding construction of the road Kulob-Qalai Khumb. OFID will co-finance this project.
We will recall that the Government of Tajikistan and the Islamic Development Bank (IBD) signed a loan agreement for 20 million U.S. dollars on July 28, 2009. The amount of this preferential loan given for 25 years is allocated for co-financing the project for construction of the road from Kulob to Qalai Khumb.
Established by the member states of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 1976, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), with headquarters in Vienna, is a multilateral development finance institution. Its objective is to reinforce financial cooperation between OPEC member nations and other developing countries, by providing financial support to the latter for their socioeconomic development. The resources of OFID are also used to provide grants for food aid, technical assistance, research and similar intellectual activities. OFID”s resources consist of voluntary contributions made by OPEC member nations and the accumulated reserves derived from the institution”s various operations.
The government also plans to attract additional funds for this project from the Saudi Arabia Development, Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development and the Abu Dhabi fund for Development.
The project includes construction of two sections of the Kulob-Qalai Khumb highway: from Shuroobod to Anjirobi Poyon; and from Anjirobi Poyon to Shagon.
