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Gambia signs US$18M financing agreement with Kuwait Fund

Nov 28, 2016, 10:02 AM

On the sidelines of the “4th Africa-Arab Summit”, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) signed two (2) financing agreements with the Islamic Republic of The Gambia on 22nd November 2016.

The financing agreements consist of a loan agreement of KD5,000,000 (Five million Kuwaiti Dinars) equivalent to US$16.40 million for developing basic and secondary schools, and a grant agreement of KD500,000 (Five hundred thousand Kuwaiti Dinars) equivalent to US$1.64 million for technical assistance for financing the preparation of a feasibility study for supporting human resources capabilities and for capacity building and technical programmes.

The two financing agreements were signed by Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, first deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and chairman, Board of Directors of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, and Hon. Abdou Kolley, minister of Finance and Economic Affairs of the Islamic Republic of The Gambia.

The project aims to support the social and economic development of The Gambia through   supporting the government’s Education Sector Strategic Plan (2016-2030) by developing and expanding about 39 upper basic and secondary schools in six (6) educational regions of the country.

The development includes constructing, equipping buildings and provision of new facilities, as well as institutional support for the project implementation unit (PIU). The project also includes consulting services for the design, review and supervision of works.

Finally, the project is expected to allow access to the growing demand of students’ enrolment in upper and senior secondary schools. In addition, it will contribute to the improvement of the quality of teaching and learning outcomes at these two important levels of the education sector, which will promote sustainable social and economic development.

The project is expected to complete by end-December 2020.