DUSHANBE, May 11, 2009, Asia-Plus — On May 8, the Government of Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement on additional financing for the rural development project.
Speaking at the document-signing ceremony, Finance Minister Safarali Najmiddinov noted that the project aimed at raising household incomes in rural Tajikistan was launched in 2007.
The total cost of the project is estimated at $23.2 million, of which ADB finances from its Asian Development Fund a loan of $8.8 million and a grant of $8.3 million. The loan carries a 32-year term, including a grace period of eight years. Annual interest is 1% during the grace period and 1.5% for the rest of the term.
Under the May 8 agreement a grant of 3.5 million US dollars from the Global Environmental Facility will support the project, the minister said.
Focusing on five districts – Fayzobod, Roghun, Roudaki, Vahdat, and Varzob – located around Dushanbe, the project is dedicated to tackle all these issues, introducing reforms on land use security, agro-processing, and marketing, and enterprise development. The project is due for completion around the end of March 2014, Najmiddinov noted.
The main objective of the project is to help raise household incomes in rural areas of Tajikistan though increasing productivity, introducing better land management and developing the rural infrastructure, ADB”s Country Director for Tajikistan, Mr. Makoto Ojiro, said.
