Egypt signs agreement to receive last $500M tranche of AFDB loan

CAIRO – 28 January 2018: Egypt signed an agreement on Sunday to receive the third and last tranche, worth 500 million, of a $1.5 billion loan package from the African Development Bank (AFDB) to finance Egypt’s Economic Governance and Energy Support Program.

This came during a signing ceremony between Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Sahar Nasr and Malinne Blomberg, the AFDB’s Country Manager in Egypt.

The program supports Egypt’s comprehensive structural reform agenda aimed to drive fiscal consolidation, strengthen governance and efficiency in the energy sector, and enhance the business operating environment, especially for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

Nasr said that the signing confirms that Egypt’s economy is on the right track towards achieving sustainable development, adding that the AFDB trusts the government’s reform program.

The Board of Directors of the AFDB has approved this month to disperse the last tranche, saying that the current tranche will help meet the Government’s financing requirement in fiscal year 2017/18.

The AFDB loan is intended to support government programs that aim to achieve social and economic development by creating new jobs and improving the business environment, according to the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation.

Nasr signed the first $500 million tranche of the AfDB loan in December 2015, and the second in December 2016.

The AFDB collaborated closely with development partners, including the World Bank, which provided parallel financing of $1.15 billion in December 2017.

The bank currently has a portfolio of 30 projects in Egypt with a total commitment of $2.4 billion.