BOAD Board of Directors authorizes new loans amounting to XOF237.157 billion in favour of WAEMU economies

Dakar, 20 March 2019. The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) held its 112^th ordinary meeting at the premises of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar (Senegal) under the chairmanship of Mr. Christian Adovelande, Board Chairman and President of BOAD. Following the adoption of the minutes of the 111^th Board meeting held on 19 December 2018 in Dakar (Senegal), the Board approved BOAD’s accounts for the year ended 31 December 2018, which will be submitted for approval by the Council of Ministers of the West African Monetary Union (WAMU).

Board members approved fifteen (15) new operations including 9 medium-, and long-term loans involving a total of XOF206.351 billion, three (3) refinancing facilities involving a total of XOF30 billion, a regularization of an equity investments for XOF806 million and two (2) credit lines for a total amount of XOF138.394 billion.

These operations bring to XOF5,551.3 billion BOAD’s cumulative commitments (all operations combined) since the beginning of its activities.

Loans approved are meant for the partial funding of following projects:

• Construction of the Dakar-Saint-Louis coastal motorway: Dakar-Tivouane section over a 63.1 km stretch in Senegal. The overall objective of the project is to promote economic development, particularly agriculture, fisheries and tourism in the project area. Specific objectives include: (i) reducing travel time to major cities on Senegal’s northern coast by 60%; and (ii) reducing vehicle operating costs by about 80% from the first year of commissioning.
  Loan amount: XOF27.5 billion

• Kanawolo-Korhogo road rehabilitation and development in Côte d’Ivoire: The purpose of the project is the upgrading of the Kanawolo-Korhogo road over a stretch of 99 km, including the development over 9 km stretch of the urban road into a 2×2 lanes, construction of two (2) interchanges in Kanawolo and Torgokaha, one (1) foot bridge, a parking for big trucks and construction of three (3) roundabouts in Korhogo. Social amenities and the asphalting of 9 km roads in the sub-prefectures of Tioronianrandougou (3 km), Napié (3 km) and Torgokaha (3 km) are also expected. The overall objective is to improve mobility on the road section in order to boost economic exchange between the region and other parts of the country on one hand and on the other, between the region and countries in the hinterland, namely Burkina Faso and Mali.Loan amount: XOF30 billion

• Construction and asphalting of the Djougou-Péhunco-Kérou-Banikoara road in Benin: The project involves the construction and asphalting of the dirt road from Djougou to Banikoara via Péhunco and Kérou over a stretch of 209.68 km and a platform width of 10.20 m in current section. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to Benin’s economic growth by improving transportation conditions in its largest cotton production area and to strengthen regional integration. Loan amount: XOF17 billion

• Emergency phase of the proposed construction and asphalting of 80 km roads on Guinea Bissau’s priority road network: construction of the southern bypass of Bissau and the Bissau-Birla-Nhacra road. The purpose of the project is: i) the construction and asphalting of the southern Bissau bypass on the Guimetal Roundabout – Cuntum Madina – Bissau Port stretch long by 11.6 km, the second exit from Bissau on the Antula – Canal Impernal – Birla – Nhacra stretch long by 9.3 km; and ii) construction of a 200 m bridge on the Canal Impernal river. Specific objectives include: (i) improving access to the suburbs of Bissau with a population of around 75,000 inhabitants; (ii) diverting 90% of heavy-duty vehicle traffic through the city center to the port of Bissau; and (iii) reducing vehicle operating costs by around 50% from the first year of operation of the new roads. Loan amount: XOF20 billion.

• Construction of various roads and networks in the urban center of Diamniadio in Senegal. The overall program focuses on the construction of: (i) a road network comprising 5.3 km of road stretch arranged in 2×2 lanes and 2×1 lanes; (ii) a drinking water supply system comprising two water towers with a cumulative capacity of 1,500 m³ and a 14 km network; (iii) a wastewater treatment system including 12 km of network connected to the existing water treatment plant; (iv) a sewerage network for rainwater on 4 km; (v) an electrical power system comprising nine Medium Voltage (MV) electrical substations with a capacity of 630 KVA and Medium Voltage (15 km) and Low Voltage (20 km) electrical distribution networks and the corresponding remote management. Loan amount: XOF30 billion.

• Construction and asphalting of urban roads in Tillabery in Niger. The purpose of the project is the construction and asphalting of 10,276 km long of urban roads in order to ensure a reliable and permanent connection between the main areas of the city of Tillabery. This concerns the urban section of the trunk road N°1 west measuring 9,020 km long in 2×2 lanes, located on the Interstate-Niamey-Bamako axis and urban roads over a total stretch of 1,256 km arranged in 2×1 lanes in the city. The project is justified by: i) the deteriorating condition of existing roads; ii) contribution to improved living conditions of the populations in the city of Tillabery; iii) inclusion in the Social and Economic Development Programme (PDES); and iv) contribution to regional integration. Loan amount: XOF14 billion.

• Rehabilitation and modernization of the Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau in Guinea Bissau. The project comprises rehabilitation, modernisation and refurbishing of a set of infrastructures and buildings at the Osvaldo Vieira International Airport in Bissau, in order to make them more operational and functional for users. It also consists of constructing new buildings, acquiring and installing new operating equipment instead of obsolete equipment. The overall objective is to provide Bissau Airport with better operating conditions. Specific objectives of the project are to: (i) improve the safety and security of aviation activities by bringing infrastructure up to international standards; (ii) ensure the safety and regularity of flights serving Bissau; and (iii) to increase air traffic at Bissau Airport. Loan amount: XOF20 billion.

• Increased capacities of the combined-cycle thermal power plant by AZITO ENERGIE SA at Azito in Côte d’Ivoire (AZITO IV). The purpose of the project is the installation of a combined-cycle gas turbine of a nominal capacity of 181 MW and a 72 MW steam turbine as part of the expansion of the AZITO thermal plant to increase the installed capacity from 427 MW to 680 MW. The overall objective is to ensure a better coverage of electric power demand in Côte d’Ivoire and power exports to neighboring countries including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Mali under the West Africa Power pool (WAPP) project. The project’s specific objective is to generate an additional capacity of 253 MW in the AZITO power plant to reach an annual average production of about 2,000 GWh. Loan amount: XOF22.851 billion.

• Construction of a 65 MW combined-cycle thermal power plant by KEKELI EFFICIENT POWER (KEP) SA in Lomé, Togo. The project involves the construction of a 65 MW combined-cycle thermal power plant, including 47 MW for the SIEMENS SGT-800 gas turbine and 18 MW for the steam turbine connected to a recovery boiler. It is part of a twenty-five (25) year concession agreement signed on 23 October 2018 between the Togolese Government and KEP SA.
  Loan amount: XOF25 billion.

• Proposal for the regularization of the amount of BOAD equity investments in the share capital of the Africa Renewable Energy Fund (AREF). The objective of the project is to: (i) promote access of people in Sub-Saharan Africa to sources of clean and renewable energies; (ii) invest in the development, acquisition, construction and/or improvement and operation of renewable energy projects; and (iii) increase the private investments for renewable energy projects in order to draw from the numerous potentials of the Sub-Saharan Africa region. Loan amount: XOF806 million.

• Granting of a refinancing facility to Bank of Africa Niger (BOA Niger). The operation involves granting a refinancing facility to BOA-NIGER to refinance productive investments projects in sectors that are eligible for financing by the Bank. This operation falls under the third programme initiated by BOAD and KFW to support micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in the WAEMU region by improving their access to credit from commercial financial institutions. Loan amount: XOF10 billion.

• Granting of a short-term credit facility to Banque Nationale de Développement Economique (BNDE) for the partial refinancing of loans granted as part of the 2018-2019 groundnut season in Senegal. The target objective is to consolidate in the short-term BNDE’s financial resources to enable it support adequately the cash needs of concerned companies such as Sante Yallah Diakhao Saloum and SONACOS. Loan amount: XOF10 billion.

• Granting of a short-term credit facility to NSIA Banque Côte d’Ivoire (NSIA Banque CI) for the partial refinancing of loans granted as part of the 2018-2019 cocoa season in Côte d’Ivoire. This operation is intended to consolidate in the short-term NSIA Banque CI’s financial resources to enable it support adequately the cash needs of concerned companies such as Touton Negoce Côte D’Ivoire (TNCI), Cocoa Export Côte D’Ivoire (COEX-CI) and Société de Commercialisation de Café-Cacao (S3C). The refinancing facility will contribute to the purchase of about 240,000 tons of cocoa beans from cocoa producers in Côte d’Ivoire.
  Loan amount: XOF10 billion.

• Granting of a third line of credit by KfW to BOAD to finance Micro-, small-, medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs). As the Bank does not finance directly Small and medium-scale enterprises, this resource will be used for refinancing facilities to credit institutions operating in the Union such as banks, financial institutions and microfinance institutions.Loan amount: €150 million or XOF98.394 billion.

• Granting of a line of credit by Green Climate Fund (GCF) to BOAD to finance green projects. The operation concerns a line of credit and a grant from GCF to BOAD in order to finance solar energy projects. This operation is in line with the programme to scale-up private investments for solar energy projects in West Africa. The total cost of the programme stands at €1 million or XOF164.05 billion. Amount of facility: €61 million or XOF40 billion.

The Board expressed a favourable opinion on the draft 2018 annual report, the statement of recovery of the Bank’s loans as at 28 February 2019 and the overall situation of recoveries as at 31 December 2018. Furthermore, the Board took notice of the following items for information purposes:

• Minutes of the 30^th meeting of BOAD Audit Committee;
• Status of BOAD’s operations per country as at 31 December 2018;
• Report on the implementation of the Strategic plan at the end of year 4;
• Status report on the use of resources mobilized by BOAD as at 31 January 2019;
• 2018 Annual budget execution report under BOAD’s 2018-2020 programme-budgeting;
• Report of the Credit Committee to the Board following the home consultation in connection with the short-term loan proposal to CMDT for the partial financing of the 2018-2019 cotton season;
• Memorandum on BOAD’s resource mobilization for financing climate projects and grant management for Adaptation Fund for the partial financing of two projects in Niger and Guinea Bissau;
• Memorandum on the Adaptation Fund’s grant management for the financing of the regional project for scaling-up smart agriculture in West Africa;
• Compendium of recommendations and decisions taken at Board meetings held in 2018;
• Minutes of the ordinary session of the WAMU Council of Ministers held in Dakar on 21 December 2018.

In closing the meeting, BOAD President Christian Adovelande expressed, on behalf of the Board, deep appreciation to the Senegalese authorities for their warm and friendly welcome extended to Board members and the congenial material and organizational arrangements that facilitated successful deliberations.

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