Germany donates 32m euro for Aceh

JAKARTA: Germany's Ministry of Finance, KFW Entwicklungsbank and the German Development Bank have signed three grant agreements worth 32 million euro to support the reconstruction of Aceh.

A press statement from the German Embassy in Jakarta announced on Friday that one program is to help rebuild some 10,000 houses for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami.

Another project aims to reconstruct and re-equip vocational schools (SMK) and senior high schools (SMU) destroyed by the disaster.

The grants would also be used to help finance the reconstruction and equipping of the provincial hospital in Banda Aceh.

The embassy said the German government would announce a second tranche of grants next year as the total costs for the Aceh reconstruction programs are estimated at around 90 million Euro.

"These three grant agreements formalize part of the commitment given by the German government. This financial support is accompanied by technical assistance through GTZ (German Technical Cooperation)," it said. --JP