The Board of Directors approves new commitments totaling XOF65.2 billion
Dakar, 18 December 2019. The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) held its 115th ordinary meeting at the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar (Senegal), under the chairmanship of Mr. Christian Adovelande, BOAD President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Following approval of the minutes of its 114th meeting held on 25 September 2019 in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the Board examined the 2019-2023 financial outlook update, the 2020-2022 programme-budget and the Bank’s CSR policy presentation note.
The Board also approved new operations, including 2 medium and long-term loans totaling XOF22 billion, 1 short-term loan of XOF5 billion and 2 equity investments amounting to XOF38.2 billion. These operations bring BOAD’s total commitments (all operations combined) to XOF5,809.1 billion.
Approved loans were meant for the p artial funding of the following projects:
- Construction of a 30 MWp solar PV power plant at Blitta in Togo. The purpose of the project is the construction, operation and maintenance of a 30 MWp solar PV power plant at Blitta, and the realization of transmission lines to be connected to Togo’s interconnected grid in order to supply power to the national power company CEET. The electrical facilities of the said power plant will be transferred to the State at the end of concession, after 25 years of operation. The overall objective of the project is to contribute to diversifying energy mix and reducing power generation costs. It aims at: i) providing access to electric power for 30,000 additional households and the cotton ginnery at Blitta as from 2021; ii) contributing to increasing the country electrification rate from 45% in 2018 to 60% in 2022; and iii) contributing to improved living conditions of the populations in the concerned communities. Loan amount: XOF7 billion.
- Equity investment in the WAEMU Seed and Infrastructure Funds. The purpose of the project is the participation by BOAD to the tune of (i) XOF12,000 M in the Seed Fund and (ii) XOF26,238.28 M in the Infrastructure Fund. The intended objectives of these two funds are: (i) to contribute to reducing infrastructure gap (estimated at US$7 billion per annum, or about XOF4,137 billion) in the region and thereby accelerating the economic growth of the Union member countries; (ii) to diversify funding sources for infrastructure in the region and increase private sector participation; (iii) to mobilize domestic and international institutional investors in order to develop the region’s infrastructure; (iv) to contribute to local private sector development in the Union by supporting local project developers through funding for project preparation; and (v) to contribute to developing the regional capital market. Loan amount: XOF38.2 billion.
- Refinancing facility to ORABANK Côte d’Ivoire. The facility is meant for supporting decentralized financial systems, with the possibility of allocating, if necessary, credits to SMEs/SMIs. It is part of (i) the third programme initiated by BOAD and KfW to support the activities of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in the WAEMU region by improving their access to financial resources through the commercial banking sector, and (ii) BOAD’s commitment to support the micro-credit sector. Facility amount: XOF15 billion.
- Short-term loan to BGFI Bank Côte d’Ivoire (BGFI Bank CI) for the partial refinancing of the 2019-2020 cashew nut season. The intended objective is to strengthen the bank’s financial resources, thereby enabling it to properly support the cash requirements of the companies involved (Centrale d’Achat des Produits Agricoles (CAP) SA, Quang Thien Imex (QTI) SA and TAN IVOIRE SA). The refinancing facility will contribute to purchase about 69,000 tonnes of cashew nut from producers in Côte d’Ivoire. Loan amount: XOF5 billion.
In addition, the Board approved the proposed rescheduling of the loan to PARENTERUS SA for the partial funding of the proposed construction of IV solution production plant at Bayakh in Senegal. The updated objective of the project is to increase from 1,984,320 units in year 1 to 7,275,840 units in year 2 to reach 10,913,760 units as from year 3, representing respectively 17%, 61% and 91% of the plant’s installed capacity. Loan amount: XOF2.9 billion.
The Board also delivered a favourable opinion on the statement of recovery of BOAD loans as at 30 November 2019 and the note on the issue of compensating populations as part of project financing by the Bank. Furthermore, they took note of the following items:
- Report of the 32nd meeting of BOAD Audit Committee.
- Summary of key findings from the study on BOAD capital adequacy.
- Report on the third bond loan issued by BOAD on the international capital market.
- Orabank Côte d’Ivoire Trust (former BRS Group) report for FY2019.
- Report on a regional workshop on solar energy in the WAEMU region promoted by BOAD, BCEAO and WAEMU Commission.
- Note on the completion of the BOAD residential estate construction project at Baguida in Lomé (Togo).
In closing the session, the Board Chairman, Mr. Christian Adovelande, on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked the Senegalese authorities and the Governor of BCEAO for the warm and brotherly welcome extended to Board members, as well as for the logistic and organizational arrangements that facilitated the holding of this session under congenial conditions.
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