Press Release

OPEC Fund supports housing construction in Mali

40/2005 April 21, 2005, Vienna, Austria

The OPEC Fund for International Development today signed a €1.4 million loan agreement with IFA-BACO, a real estate development company in Mali, to help finance a housing project in the capital, Bamako. The project, which is co-financed by Shelter Afrique, seeks to help satisfy the growing demand for residential property by providing serviced building plots and constructing a variety of house types.

Like many other African countries, Mali has experienced a high urbanization rate in recent years, with city populations multiplying dramatically. This has precipitated a serious housing crisis, especially in Bamako, where the number of inhabitants has mushroomed to 1.5 million. Although the construction of new houses has more than quadrupled over the past two years, the market remains under‑supplied.

The proposed new housing development is located at Sebeninkoro in Bamako’s 4 th District on a total land area of 27 hectares. Phase one of the project aims to supply services to 287 plots and construct 163 housing units on 15 ha. All houses will be provided with utilities, including piped water and electricity, a septic tank and cesspool. Other important infrastructure, such as access roads and storm water drainage, will also be built. In order to cater for different income groups, 11 house types across a wide price range are envisaged.

The project will support the government’s national housing strategy which seeks to ensure greater access to land, urban infrastructure services and decent housing. It will also generate employment opportunities and improve the urban environment.

This is the Fund’s second private sector operation in Mali. The first was a €1.67 million loan to a brick manufacturing company. Cumulative financing to the public sector totals more than US$165 million and includes balance of payments support, commodity imports programs, debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, and projects in the agriculture, transportation, education and energy sectors. In December 2003, an agreement for the protection and encouragement of investment was entered into between the Fund and the government of Mali.

Today’s agreement was signed in Vienna, on behalf of IFA-BACO, by Mr. Mohamed Traoré, President, and by H.E. Mr. Jamal Nasser Lootah, Chairman of the Governing Board of the OPEC Fund.