While still in recovery from a deep balance of payment crisis in 2015, Suriname will now receive a US$1.8 billion soft loan from the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and invest $1.287 billion to finance a series of more than 40 projects in energy and infrastructure.
As part of the “Framework for the Stabilization and Restoration Program 2016-2018”, Suriname plans to construct and rehabilitate more than 40 bridges and hundreds of kilometers of rural roads across the country. Another US$65 million from the IsDB loan will be used to invest in an industrial park in the Para District and $400 million was made available by the Trade Finance Corporation (ITFC) for the ministries of natural resources, trade and industry, public health and agriculture, animal husbandry and fisheries.
Last week the government released an official communication asserting that Suriname is above its 2016 fiscal targets and is committed to an IMF agreement to stabilize the economy. A condition of the loan however, is that the government of Suriname and relevant ministries will not come into contact with the money and contractors will be paid directly by the IsDB. Both Suriname and IsDB stakeholders hope that this loan agreement will help to achieve “macroeconomic stability to meet and exceed the conditions” of recovery for the national economy.
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