The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) has signed a $50 million loan with Tanzania to finance what it called the “Fourth Tanzania Poverty Reduction Project”.
OPEC says the project will build rural infrastructure to boost economic opportunities and improve access to social services for more than 900,000 people in the East African country.
The Fund is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to non-member countries.
It works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international development community to stimulate economic growth and social progress in low and middle-income countries around the world.
To date, The Fund has approved more than $25 billion for operations in 135 partner countries, with a vision to “creating a world where sustainable development is a reality for all.”
Although Tanzania has made progress in reducing poverty over the past decade, around 26 million people, close to half the total population, live on less than $1.90 per day.
The Tanzanian government has launched a number of programs to tackle this challenge, including social safety net initiatives and three previous phases of the new project, also co-financed by the OPEC Fund.
Phase four of the programme is expected to build infrastructure for education, health, water, agriculture and transportation, and also create income-generating activities in animal husbandry and vegetable growing, in addition to employment opportunities. Work will be undertaken in the Arusha, Mwanza, Geita and Simiyu regions in northern Tanzania and the Njombe region in the south of the country.
Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, who is the OPEC Fund director-general, said “the OPEC Fund has been committed to helping Tanzania reduce poverty and improve socio-economic conditions for many years. The present loan will help communities to help themselves by building capacity, strengthening food security and household incomes, and improving access to social amenities. We have a strong partnership with Tanzania and look forward to seeing more progress on key development indicators in the near future.”
The OPEC Fund and Tanzania have a partnership that spans 45 years, during which the organization has committed more than $370 million for 38 public sector operations, including the present project, across a wide range of sectors.
Transportation is one of the vital sectors receiving the OPEC Fund support. A recent commitment of $26 million from the organization is financing the Kazilambwa-Chagu road upgrading project.
The road is part of the 1,260-kilometer east-west corridor, which links Tanzania’s two major ports of Dar Es Salaam in the east to Kigoma in the west.
Improved connectivity will help increase agricultural and tourism-related activities, and facilitate trade with neighboring Burundi and Congo DR.
The OPEC Fund was established by the member countries of OPEC in 1976 with a distinct mandate to drive development, strengthen communities and empower people.
Its work is people-centered, focusing on financing projects that meet essential needs, such as food, energy, infrastructure and employment, particularly relating to MSMEs, as well as clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education.
