The approvals covered many sectors including energy, roads, petrochemicals, water, education and health in favor of eight member countries, including Saudi Arabia and Lebanon.
In the energy sector the Board allocated US$220 million for the Egypt-Saudi Electricity Interconnection Project, which aims to facilitate supply of electricity from Saudi Arabia to Egypt and vice versa with a maximum capacity of 3000 MW.
In the petrochemicals sector the Board approved US$100 million for the Rabigh2 project under Saudi Arabia’s Refining & Petrochemical Company (Petro Rabigh). The project will allow to almost double the company’s petrochemical products’ output.
Two projects were approved in the transportation sector totaling US$116.5 million, including US$69.5 million for the Northern Highway Project in Lebanon, specifically the Tripoli Eastern Ring Road which is much needed to help relieve the highly congested roads in the Tripoli Metropolitan Area.
Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President, IDB, approved US$300,000 for supporting the efforts of Sierra Leone government in combating Ebola.
In a separate announcement, it was reported that HE Almazbek Atambayev, President of the Kyrgyz Republic, expressed his appreciation to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, for financing five advanced mobile health clinics to be deployed in a number of rural areas in his country. This came at a ceremony in Makkah where, as part of his current visit to Saudi Arabia, President Atambayev graced the signing of the relevant agreement between Kyrgyz Foreign Minister HE Erlan Abdıldayev and Dr Ahmad Mohamed Ali.
The mobile health clinics project in rural areas of the Kyrgyz Republic is part of a US$266.5 million programme fully funded by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and implemented by IDB for establishing 75 mobile clinics in several Islamic countries and Muslim communities.
The programme is aimed at offering general medical services to the least developed areas and contributing to medical treatment of the needy. The mobile health clinics will provide primary health care, medical x-rays and tests. The programme is also expected to contribute to promoting the health and medical standards in the countries concerned, training and upgrading of the local medical staff in accordance with global professional standards enabling them to meet the requirements for treatment of eye, ear-nose-throat (ENT) and urinary tract disorders as well as cancer and heart diseases, etc.
The IDB Group Chairman said that in addition to the Kyrgyz Republic, the mobile health clinics programme funded by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques will cover Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and Yemen as well as a number of other countries in the Asian continent.
*Images from IDB.