IDB finances Two Projects in Yemen

Washington, October 18, SPA -- Two agreements were signed here
recently between the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Republic
of Yemen to provide US$21.2 million, to finance two water and roads
projects in the Arab country.


The deal was signed by Dr. Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of IDB, and
Dr. Abdul Karim Ismail Al-Arhabi, Yemen's Deputy Prime Minister for
Economic Affairs and Minister of Planning and International
Cooperation in Washington D.C, on the sidelines of the annual
meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

The first project is to construct two all-year accessible roads: the
27.3 km Assoha-Suq in Lahaj Province, and the 24 km
Al-Berain-AlQadaha in Taiz. IDB will provide about 80 precent of the
total cost of US$13.89 million, while the Government of Yemen will
provide the rest.


The 3-year project aims to link the rural areas of Yemen all year
round, as part of the network of rural roads that will enable
citizens to have wide access to markets and service centers. The loan
is extended under the Islamic Solidarity Fund for Development (ISFD),
which became operational earlier this year.


The second project is to help improve health services and water
supplies to some 36,000 inhabitants in Hawtah city in Lahaj Province,
by 2015, through digging wells, water reservoirs, networks and other
facilities. IDB is providing US$10 million of the US$13.17 million
project, while the rest is covered by the Government of Yemen and the
British Aid, according to a press release of IDB.

--SPA