Kinshasa | Monday
THE World Bank has approved a $450-million (500-million euro) credit line for the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) aimed at rebuilding the vast central African country’s war-ravaged economy, official sources said on Sunday.
Under the terms of the loan agreement signed between the DRC government and the Bank, the monies will be provided through the Bank’s concessional lending window, the International Development Association (IDA).
IDA provides long-term loans at zero interest to the poorest of the developing countries.
The interest rate on the loan will be 0.5% per year, with a term of 30 years and a 10-year grace period, the Bank’s head of mission in the DRC, Brendan Horton, was quoted saying by state-run television.
“If all goes well, the loan will be made available to the DRC by June, but there is still a lot of logistical work to be done by the World Bank,” Horton said.
The Bank will also provide resources for an emergency programme aimed at helping to revive and reconstruct the DRC’s economy. The cost of that programme is put at $1,7-billion dollars. – AFP