The Director General of the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) Suleiman Al-Herbish and Saidi Kibeya, Minister of Transport , Public Works and Equipment of the Republic of Burundi, today signed an US$8 million public sector loan agreement for the upgrade of a 15km road section in the North-Western part of the country. The project is expected to contribute to the improvement of people's livelihoods and poverty reduction through the development of agricultural production and trade activities in the project area. The Ntamba-Ndora road is part of a broader project finance by OFID to upgrade and pave a 42km road linking the towns of Bubanza and Ndora. The first phase, also financed by OFID with a loan of US$10 million, covered the section Bubanza-Ntamba with a length of 27km. The second phase covers the Ntamba-Ndora road section which passes through the northern provinces of Babunza and Cibitoke, neighboring the Democratic Republic of Congo. Commenting at the loan signing event, Al-Herbish reiterated OFID's support to the Poverty Reduction Strategy of the Government of Burundi, saying that the Energy for the Poor Initiative plays a catalytic role in poverty eradication. To date, OFID has approved 19 operations in Burundi in a cumulative amount of US$96 million including support for Commodity Imports Program aiming at alleviating the burden of debts on poor countries and also approved 14 projects in support of projects in the transport and agriculture sectors.
