The OPEC Fund for International Development the development finance institution of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-has signed a US$ 50 million loan with Tanzania to finance the ‘Fourth Tanzania Poverty Reduction Project’.
The project will build rural infrastructure in the Mwanza, Geita, Arusha, and Simiyu regions in northern Tanzania and the Njombe region in the south to boost economic opportunities and improve access to social services for more than 900,000 people.
The Tanzanian government has launched a number of programs to tackle this challenge, including social safety net initiatives and 3 previous phases (also co-financed by the OPEC Fund) of the new project.
Phase 4 will build infrastructure for health, water, education, agriculture and transportation, and create income generating activities in animal husbandry and vegetable growing, in addition to employment opportunities.
Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, OPEC Fund Director General said: “The OPEC Fund has been committed to helping Tanzania reduce poverty and improve socio-economic conditions for many years. The present loan will help communities to help themselves by building capacity, strengthening food security and household incomes, and improving access to social amenities. We have a firm partnership with Tanzania and are looking forward to see more progress on key development indicators in the near future.”
The OPEC Fund and Tanzania have a partnership that spans 45 years. During this time, the organization has committed more than US$ 370 million for about 38 public sector operations (including the present project) across a wide range of sectors.
Transportation is 1 sector receiving OPEC Fund support. A recent US$ 26 million commitment from the organization is financing the Kazilambwa-Chagu Road Upgrading Project.
The road is part of the 1,260 km east-west corridor, which links Tanzania’s 2 major ports of Dar Es Salaam in the east to Kigoma in the west.
