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.
