Jeddah,7th April 2009.
The Islamic Development Bank (IDB) approved US$ 87.5 million loan in favor of the Belawan Port in Indonesia.

The primary objective of the project is to increase the capacity of the container terminal in Belawan port, which is the third largest port in Indonesia after Jakarta and Surabaya in order to accommodate a larger number of container vessels with a higher loading capacity to contribute to the overall economic growth of North Sumatra Province.

The total project cost is estimated at US$ 139 million out of which IDB is contributing US$ 87.5 , while the Indonesian government is extending US$ 51.67 million to the same project. The government has a 25 years development plan for the port and allocated finances is to cover the first phase.

Up to end of Feb 09, IDB operations in Indonesia amounted to US$ 1.8 billion covering 175 operations. Currently, Indonesia’s portfolio includes 81 ordinary operations, of them 48 completed.

IDB is international development institution operating along Islamic sharia. It is active in 56 member countries in the Islamic world, in addition to helping Muslim communities in non-member countries. Since its establishment in 1975 it has extended aid amounting to more than US$57 billion finances, the biggest among regional development institutions.