Sharm El Sheikh, Arab Republic of Egypt, 1 June 2022 – Chaired by Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) President, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, the IsDB Board of Executive Directors held its 346th session at Lamborghini International Congress Center in Sharm-Elsheikh, Egypt, in conjunction with the 2022 IsDB Group Annual Meetings.

At the outset, H.E. Dr. Al Jasser expressed his profound appreciation to the Government and People of the Arab Republic of Egypt, the host country, for their generous hospitality and excellent arrangements for the IsDB Group Annual Meetings in Sharm el-Sheikh. 

The meeting then approved  US$ 176.12  million to finance new road transport, health, water and sanitation, and food security projects in 4 member countries namely Guinea Bissau, Togo, Benin and Cameroon.

The Board Members also gave their approval to the IsDB Annual Evaluation Report 2021 and reviewed several other reports including the 12th Progress Report on the IsDB Group Strategic Preparedness and Response Program (SPRP) that focuses on mitigating the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Details of the development projects approved in the 346^th meeting of the IsDB Board of Executive Directors are as follows:

• Guinea Bissau:

• US$15.8 million for Bissau-Dakar Road Corridor Project – Phase 1: Farim – Dungal (Senegal Border) – Guinea Bissau.

The project aims to contribute to the internal unlocking of Guinea Bissau and Senegal, and the strengthening of sub-regional integration and trade. The specific objective of the project is to improve by 2026: (i) the level of service of the Farim - Tanaf road via reducing the transport cost by about 45% and increasing the average daily traffic by 130% compared to the 2020 level of service; and (ii) the accessibility and living conditions of about 863,320 inhabitants as per the estimates of 2019.

• Togo:

• US$42.80 million blended financing comprising US$ 27.80

million from the Bank and US$15 million from IsDB’s Lives and Livelihoods Fund (LLF) for the Strengthening of Health System and Primary Health Care Project in Togo.

The key expected results include the increased use of Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) services coupled with the control of major communicable diseases across the country, construction of 30 health infrastructures, and the rehabilitation of 26 others as well as supplying of their related equipment.

• US$14.5 million (EUR 13.6) for Water Supply and Sanitation in Four Prefectures, Togo.

The project will provide safely managed drinking water and sanitation infrastructure, community engagement and accountability, project management and coordination, financial audit services; Contingency Emergency Response Component (CERC).

The direct beneficiaries of the project by 2027 are 49,000 people.

• Benin:

• US$ 18.40 million blended financing comprising US$ 12 million Installment Sale financing and US$ 6.4 million LLF Donor Grant funding for the Integrated Agriculture Value Chain Development Project –(IAVCDP), Benin.

The expected key results are increased innovative irrigated land under Intensive production for rice and maize by 650ha; seed systems built through the production of 154 tons of pre-base and base seeds for rice and maize; 900t of rice certified seed and 50 tons of maize certified seed produced for 12,000 ha under modern cultivation techniques; 50km of access roads to be constructed; rice and maize productivity increase respectively from 1.5 Ton/Ha to 4.5 Ton/Ha and 1.5 Ton/Ha to 3 Ton/Ha.

• Cameroon:

• US$84.62 million (EUR 79.44 million) for the Rice Value Chain Development (RVCD) Project, Republic of Cameroon.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to rice self-sufficiency, enhance economic growth, and improve household incomes through improved production, processing, marketing, and support for private sector participation in the agricultural (rice) value chain.

The objectives will be achieved through the development of 5,000ha of land; rehabilitation of roads; construction of markets; construction of storage facilities; establishment of rice processing units; capacity building of farmers and other stakeholders; and access to finance.

This would result in (i) an increase in rice productivity from 4.5 Ton/Ha to 6 Ton/Ha; (ii) an increase in rice National production by 10%; (iii) creation of 210,000 jobs; (iv) reducing post-harvest losses.