ADB, Kinshasa sign US $42.9 million rehabilitation deal

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the African Development Bank signed loan and grant agreements on Wednesday worth US $42.9 million for infrastructure rehabilitation and capacity building projects, the bank reported. The first agreement involves a loan of US $38.3 million for an emergency multisector socioeconomic infrastructure rehabilitation project, including improvements to the water supply system in the capital, Kinshasa. The project would also contribute to the upgrade of five general referral hospitals, six central offices for health zones, 37 health centres and six social centres, as well as the repair and provision of equipment to eight blood transfusion centres, seven school complexes and a higher training institute. In a statement, the ADB said the loan would contribute to poverty reduction and economic recovery in DRC by improving disadvantaged people's access to potable water and social infrastructures. Furthermore, the construction or rehabilitation of health facilities would increase access to health care, while the upgrading and equipping of the blood banks would help to "considerably reduce" the spread of HIV/AIDS through blood transfusion. Finally, the upgrading of education facilities would help to improve school attendance and literacy rates. The second agreement involves a grant of US $4.58 million to strengthen macroeconomic management and public investment programming capacities, and to promote the private sector through the improvement of institutional and regulatory framework. The ADB said that the grant would contribute to poverty alleviation in DRC through the building of development management capacities that would help increase the allocation of state financial resources to social sectors, thereby benefiting the least-privileged segments of the population.