AfDB extends 255 mln USD loan to Rwanda

KIGALI, Nov. 29 (Xinhua) -- The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Rwandan government on Wednesday inked two financing deals which provide a loan of 255.14 million U.S. dollars toward Rwanda's water supply and business development programs.

The two deals were signed in the Rwandan capital Kigali between Rwanda's finance minister Claver Gatete and Gabriel Negatu, the director general of AfDB's East Africa Regional Development and Business Delivery Office.

Part of the funding worth 171 million dollars will be allocated toward Rwanda sustainable water supply and sanitation program while 84 million dollars will be allocated to promotion of skills and business development program, according to the ministry of finance.

An estimated 1.1 million people are expected to benefit from improved water supply services and 475,000 people will have access to better sanitation services, Negatu said.

The financing is in line with the country's vision to scale up investments in reliable, affordable and environmentally sustainable infrastructure and water and sanitation services, said Gatete.

The water supply program targets to improve water supply infrastructure and services, sanitation infrastructure, and support institutional capacity of government utility Water and Sanitation Corporation (WASAC).

It will also benefit residents in Kigali and other cities.

The business and skills development program scheduled to start in January 2018 is designed to boost the Rwandan government's economic transformation and job creation agenda. Enditem