By Tuba Ongun
The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Group on Monday approved a $2.12 billion financing for new projects that support socio-economic development and promote sustainability of member countries.
Some 16 projects in sectors such as transport, energy, health, and education, besides youth development/entrepreneurship-employment, were approved during the board meeting, an IsDB Group statement said.
Top among the approvals is IsDB’s €803.3 million ($845.6 million) financing to help Indonesia enhance the physical and service capacity of the health referral system, ensuring that everyone has equal access to quality health care services in all districts, cities, and provinces.
The board will provide €187.84 million to Morocco for the "Construction of Guercif-Nador Highway Project" which aims to improve the connectivity of the Oriental region and the Nador West Med port complex by completing the construction of 104 km of highway including 17 bridges and 53 flyovers by 2029.
A €136.86 million to Burkina Faso and $106 million to Uganda are approved to improve the living environment of the populations and support the transport sector in the two countries.
The IsDB Group will loan Türkiye $100 million to support recovery efforts of earthquake-hit industrial companies.
Pakistan will receive $200 million IsDB Group financing to deliver reconstruction of core housing units to the populace affected by the 2022 floods in Sindh province.
The board will provide €55 million to Mali to help enhance its electricity transmission grid, €64.30 million to Chad and €25.24 million to Togo to back their higher education sector, $16.90 million to Djibouti for the livelihoods of people living in slum areas, $79 million to Kyrgyz Republic for affordable, resilient, and energy-efficient housing for the underserved population, $40 million to Maldives to support sustainable and green economic transformation of the Maldivian economy and $27 million to Tajikistan.
Last week, the IsDB Group and the Development Investment Bank of Türkiye (TKYB) signed a $200 million financing agreement to support the country's post-earthquake recovery efforts and revitalization of the agri-food sector in the most affected provinces.
Two powerful earthquakes hit 11 provinces in southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, causing extensive damage and killing and injuring tens of thousands of people.