By IINA,
Jeddah : The 251st Session of the Board of Executive Directors (BED) of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), which held recently at the headquarters of the bank here under the chairmanship of its President Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali, approved new finances amounting to $ 570.4 million. This was meant for financing nine development projects in Iran, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Niger, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Syria, Morocco and Qatar, and grants from the Waqf Fund in favour of six Muslim Communities in Bosnia Herzegovina, India, USA, Kenya and China. The board was also informed of four other technical assistance projects approved by the President of IDB during the last and current sessions of the board in favour of Syria, Lebanon, Sudan and Kazakhstan.
Dr. Ahmad Muhammad Ali commended the productive findings of the Consultative Meeting which was held simultaneously with the BED meeting aimed at generating opinions and insight on developing the Bank’s Group. He extended his thanks and appreciations to the Saudi , Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdul Aziz Al Assaf, who is also IDB Governor for Saudi Arabia, for his thoughtful and prudent speech at the meeting, according to an IDB statement. Dr. Ahmad Ali also commended the contributions of the former and current members of the, BED, and former and current IDB Vice Presidents during the meeting.
The Board approved in its session $ 1.6 million for the Islamic Financial Sector Technical Support Program (IFS-TSP) to help develop and integrate the Islamic Financial Services. It also approved to raise up the Line of Finance extended by IDB to the Waqf Fund to stand at $ 50 million. Following is the details of the approvals made by the meeting:
Development Projects: $ 121.44 million installment sale for the Abadan Combined Cycle Power Plant Project, Iran, $ 93 million Istisna’a financing for the reconstruction of rural infrastructure for earthquake victims in Shangla and Kohistan districts – under the IDB Earthquake Assistance Package to Pakistan, $ 15 million second line of financing to National Bank of Uzbekistan, $ 50 million loan financing and installment sale for the fonstruction of Kandadji Dam Project in Niger, $ 37.3 million Istisna’a financing for the upgrading and expansion of Abidjan International Airport Freight Terminal Project , Ivory Coast, $ 11.8 million loan financing for the rehabilitation and extension of Conakry Electricity Grid Distribution Project in Guinea, $ 8.1 million loan financing for the Al-Cham Medical Complex for cancer diagnosis and treatment, Syria, $ 156.3 million Istisna’a financing for the construction of the Taza-Oujda Segment within the Fes – Oujda Highway Project in Morocco and $ 75 million for participation in Ras Abu Fintas Water Desalination Station in Qatar.
The board meeting also decided to extend the following grants and special assistance projects from Waqf Fund: $ 175,000 for the expansion of Union Primary and Secondary School at Kodungallor, Thrissur District of the southern Indian state of Kerala, $240,000 for the expansion of the Pre and Primary School “Debout Be’be’s” Bujumbura in Burundi, $ 370,000 for the construction of a Hostel for “Technical University College of Tamale (TUCT) in Ghana and $ 750,000 loan financing for participation in the construction of a new compound for Al Nour Academy in Nairobi, Kenya.
Following are the approvals of technical assistance made by the President of IDB between the previous and present sessions of the BED meeting: $ 220,000 technical assistance (grant) for the Syrian Commission on Financial Market and Securities (SCFMS), Syria, $ 318,000 technical assistance (grant) for the establishment of a laboratory for Halal Certification of Food and Agricultural products under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Kazakhstan, $ 250,000 technical assistance (grant) for conducting a feasibility study and design for Saria Infrastructure development, and $ 156,000 technical assistance (grant) for conducting feasibility study for Abu Hujar Private Investment Agricultural Project in Sudan.