Press Release

OPEC Fund extends US$7 million loan to Burkina Faso for road upgrade

28/2005 March 31, 2005, Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed a US$7 million loan agreement with Burkina Faso to upgrade a segment of National Road 22, a strategic route that links outlying provinces with the capital, Ouagadougou. Opportunities provided by the new road are expected to raise agricultural production and lead to improved living standards for around 2.5 million people.

Landlocked Burkina Faso is heavily dependent on its road network for the transport of goods and people. However, around 85% of roads are unpaved, including the 110-km long Ouagadougou – Kongoussi route. Originally constructed in the 1960s, this road has become severely deteriorated due to lack of maintenance and is often impassable during the rainy season. The resulting isolation has constrained social and economic development and perpetuated poverty across the entire area.

Under the initiative, the existing road will be upgraded to all-weather standard with a triple surface dressing, and equipped with the necessary bridges and drainage structures. Its improved condition will greatly enhance linkages across the provinces of Kadiogo, Passore, Oubritenga and Sanmatenga, which vary greatly in terms of climate, natural resources and topography. Better integration will ease the exchange of goods and services, in particular farming inputs and produce, and improve access to markets, workplaces, schools and healthcare.

To date, the OPEC Fund has extended over US$122 million in development financing to Burkina Faso. This amount includes loans for balance of payments support, a commodity imports program and projects across a wide range of sectors. It also includes two loans for debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. Additionally, Burkina Faso has benefited from a large number of grants from the Fund.

Today’s agreement was signed in Vienna by HE Mme. Béatrice Damiba, Ambassador of Burkina Faso to Austria, and by HE Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund.

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