Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, 10 May 2023 -  The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) Board of Executive Directors, on Wednesday, 10 May 2023, held its 351^st meeting, in Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The meeting came as part of the 2023 Annual Meetings of IsDB Group which opened today at The Ritz-Carlton Jeddah.

Chaired by IsDB President and Group Chairman, H.E. Dr. Muhammad Al Jasser, the meeting approved new financing valued at more than US$ 558 million for six projects that focus on sustainable and inclusive growth and infrastructure development in the Bank’s member countries.

As per the decision of the Board Members, IsDB will extend a contribution of EUR 270.57 million (US$ 296.37 million) to Phase 2 of the Rural and Peri-Urban Housing Finance Project in the People's Republic of Bangladesh.

The project aims to construct 1,989 sustainable multi-storied housings with improved quality and necessary basic facilities. It will benefit a total of 70,632 lower and middle-income people dwelling in rural and peri-urban areas in the country. Being implemented by the Bangladesh House Building Finance Corporation, the project will ensure the optimum use of land and save cultivable land, while addressing the climate change issue by introducing 55 climate-resilient housing for climatically vulnerable segments and 39 eco-friendly housing for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The key approvals of the IsDB Board of Executive Directors also include a financing contribution of US$ 100 million inclusive of a US$ 35 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to the Polio Eradication Phase IV Project in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The project is being implemented by the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination. Under the Project, IsDB will finance the acquisition of most of the required oral polio vaccines through the provision of a total of 930,006,578 doses of WHO pre-qualified vaccines, which will be deployed for the 231.4 million people in Pakistan by UNICEF. The project’s objective is to permanently contain the spread of all polioviruses, including wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), by the end of 2026, and maintain the country’s ‘polio-free’ status for the subsequent three years.

The Board also approved a US$ 100 million facility  for PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur, a special mission vehicle for PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (SMI) to accelerate infrastructure development in the Republic of Indonesia. The facility will cover the financing of several infrastructure projects located across various regions in the country. It is aimed at mobilizing private sector financing for infrastructure and improving the overall quality and sustainability of infrastructure development in Indonesia. As a result, the facility will contribute to boosting investment in infrastructure, which will support the country's economic growth, reduce poverty and provide better access to basic services for its people by facilitating better access to energy, transportation, water, information and communication technology, urban, agriculture, education, healthcare, waste management, and public housing.

Furthermore, IsDB will provide a financing contribution of EUR 40 million (US$ 43.81 million) to the Electrification and Development of Electrical Connection Project in the People's Republic of Burkina Faso. Once operational, the project, being implemented by Société Nationale d'Electricité du Burkina Faso, will improve the living conditions of the populations in the targeted areas by providing reliable and affordable electricity through the extension and reinforcement of the electricity distribution and connection networks. It entails the construction of 113 km of MV lines, 971 km of LV lines, setting up 132 MV/LV substations, the provision of a connection to 38,240 households, and installing 590 solar public lightings in the targeted areas. The project is projected to increase national access to electricity by 25%.

The Board also approved a financing facility of US$ 15.31 million toward the Widening of the Bertil – Harding Highway Phase II Project in the Republic of The Gambia. The project aims to help address the increasing annual traffic growth of more than 3% on the Bertil – Harding highway by widening the road. It is expected that the traffic on the highway will increase to 28,000 vehicles a day by 2040, as compared to 16,000 vehicles per day in 2021. Under implementation by the National Roads Authority/Ministry of Transport, the project will also enhance the resilience of the highway infrastructure by improving the quality of the asphalt, maximizing connectivity and traffic fluidity, and reinforcing user safety. It will support the country in directly achieving SDG 9: resilient infrastructure, SDG 11: making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable, while indirectly promoting SDG 7: energy efficiency by reducing fuel consumption for cars as a result of more fluid traffic flows.

In addition, the Board approved an additional financing of EUR 2.32 million (US$ 2.54 million) for the Construction of the Guiba-Garango Road Project being implemented in Burkina Faso by the country’s Directorate General of Roads. The Bank had originally approved EUR 45.03 million (US$ 49.30 million) of financing for this project, which aims to improve connectivity between the major transport corridors, while also facilitating local commercial activities within the project area to sustain economic growth. The objectives of the project include reducing journey time and vehicle operating costs. The 72 km long road is a section of the national road No. 17 from the Guiba – Garango – Tenkodogo - Ouargaye Sangha - Togo Border. The project is estimated to impact a population of 700,000 people.