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Gambia News : Development Fund Approves U.S.$ 264 Million Loans And Grants for Kenya, Madagascar and The Gambia

Kenya, Madagascar and the Gambia are the beneficiaries of loans and grants with a combined value of 167.8 million Units of Account (UA*), about US$263.76 million, approved in Tunis on Wednesday by the Board of Directors of the African Development Fund (ADF) the concessional lending arm of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group.

Kenya will receive 156.9 million UA in loans and grants to finance the Nairobi-Thika highway improvement project as well for support services to the boards of its water services.

The loan of 117.85 million UA and grant of 3.15 million UA will be used to finance the entire foreign currency and part of the local currency costs of the Nairobi-Thika highway improvement project in order to improve road transport services along the corridor and enhance urban mobility within the metropolitan area by reducing traffic congestion.

It will contribute to the development of a sustainable urban public transit system for the Nairobi Metropolitan Area as well as promote private sector participation in the management, operation, and financing of road infrastructure in Kenya. The overall goal of the project is to improve the accessibility, affordability, and reliability of the transport infrastructure in order to promote economic growth and socio-economic development in Kenya as well as contribute to regional integration in the eastern and Horn of Africa regions.

The 35.19 million UA, approved for the Water Services Board Support Project, will address the capacity problems of Kenya's water boards as well as water service providers so that they can better cope with demand. It will also support the implantation of water supply and sanitation programs, the development of monitoring and evaluation capacity, systems and tools, implementation of water tariff studies to support water pricing policies, and address the development of good governance in the water sector.

The Kenya Water Services Boards Support Project will receive an additional 10.07 million UA grant from the Bank Groups Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Trust Fund when approved by the Board of the AfDB. This project, which is also receiving support from other development bodies, will address some of the water and sanitation infrastructure problems at Kibera, a sprawling informal settlement outside Nairobi. The settlement is one of the largest in Africa with a population estimated at over 500,000.

Madagascar will receive a loan of 9.202 million UA and a grant 298,000 UA to finance the rehabilitation of irrigation infrastructure in the Manombo area in the south west of the country. The goal of the project is to help reduce rural poverty by improving agricultural production through rehabilitation of infrastructure and support services to farmers and their organisations.

The Gambia, for its part, will receive a grant of 1.4 million UA to finance the country's Institutional Support Project for Economic and Financial Governance. The grant will help strengthen macroeconomic management and improve capacities in key public institutions engaged in economic management and governance, with a view to helping reduce poverty.

* 1 UA = 1.57188 USD = 102 KES = 2806 MGA = 29.6839 GMD