ADB approves aid for Indonesia, China, RP
ADB approves aid for Indonesia, China, RP
MANILA (AFP): The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said yesterday it had approved grants and loans for Indonesia, China, the Philippines, India and Kazakhstan.
A statement from the ADB headquarters in the Philippine capital said it had approved US$2.05 million in grants to Indonesia to improve infrastructure management and for a study of the development of Central Sulawesi.
A statement from the ADB headquarters in the Philippine capital, said that a $1.1-million grant would fund the establishment of a program to improve the management of human settlements infrastructure.
The ADB will provide $650,000 of the grant while the government of Denmark will provide $450,000 which will be administered by the ADB.
An ADB grant of $950,000 will fund the preparation of a proposed $40-million Central Sulawesi Integrated Area Development and Conservation Project.
The ADB will provide $850,000 of the grant while the rest will be shouldered by the Indonesian government.
The bank also said it had approved a total of $2.47 million in grants to China for a water conservancy project, to formulate policies for the power sector and improve finance management.
The largest grant, amounting to $1 million, will go to preparing a project to provide water supply, flood protection, irrigation and hydroelectric power for about three million people in Wenzhou prefecture in Zhejiang province, southeast China.
The statement said another $751,000 grant will help Beijing develop a policy and regulatory framework for attracting foreign direct investment to the power sector.
A separate ADB statement said another $720,000 grant will be made to China's Provincial Power Utilities to provide these agencies with modern accounting and financial systems.
The Philippines will receive $20 million in loans and grants from the bank for a highland agricultural project and the preparation of a national transport strategy.
Two loans, totaling $19 million, will help fund a project to reduce poverty among tillers of small farms in the northern Philippine upland provinces.
The ADB also said it had approved a $1-million grant to help Manila prepare a national transport strategy covering all modes of transport and links between ports, airports, railway terminals and intercity highways.
The grant would be financed by the French government, the ADB said.
The bank also approved a $750,000 grant to fund a study of the development of the Indian ports of Madras and Ennore.
It also approved a $20-million loan to improve primary and secondary education in Kazakhstan.
The amount, which is part of a $29.4 million Education Rehabilitation and Management Improvement Project, will go to equipment, textbooks and teacher training programs for 180 schools.
The loan will be interest free with an annual service charge of one percent, to be repaid over 35 years.