The Board of Directors of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) approved five operations this week, totaling $1.8 billion, to foster sustainability and inclusion policies and programs in Barbados, Brazil and the Dominican Republic.
The funds will also help strengthen economic integration among the River Plate Basin countries.
The resources will support macroeconomic stability, land-use planning and management of water resources in Barbados; contribute to climate resilience, agricultural productivity, and access to water and sanitation services in Brazil; and improve living conditions for vulnerable populations in the Dominican Republic.
The approvals also include a $300 million credit line for sustainable infrastructure, trade facilitation and interventions in the border areas of the River Plate Basin countries – Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Operations and amounts approved by country/geographic area:
Barbados: A $100 million loan will help maintain a stable macroeconomic environment and deepen reforms in areas including the regulatory framework for land-use planning, management of the impact of development activities, and water-resource management, among others. Barbados’ population as a whole – some 285,000 people – will benefit from the program.
Brazil: The IDB approved two operations for Brazil for a total of $1.3 billion, accounting for nearly 70% of total resources approved this week.
The first operation is a $1.2 billion credit line to improve productivity and resilience in the agricultural sector, supporting the income of producers, and to expand access to infrastructure and basic services in Brazil’s rural areas. The first credit under this line, in the amount of $230 million, will support the country’s Northeast Region to improve the sustainability and competitiveness of its agricultural sector.
The second operation approved is a $100 million loan to finance drinking water, sanitary sewage, and wastewater treatment in the metropolitan area of Belém in the state of Pará. The program will benefit nearly 407,000 households with new or improved connections to these services, improving their overall health conditions.
Dominican Republic: A $100 million loan will help improve the living conditions of the country’s vulnerable populations through conditional cash transfers for health and education. The program aims to improve the Dominican Republic’s social protection network, introducing innovations to the Single Beneficiaries System to help identify users. It will also provide access to employment support for beneficiaries of the Supérate program in the caregivers sector and will also finance medical devices for people with disabilities.
River Plate Basin: The $300 million credit line for the River Plate Basin countries includes a $100 million operation to improve transportation logistics and operations; promote urban development in border areas; and strengthen the capacities of the Financial Fund for the Development of the River Plate Basin (FONPLATA), which is both the lending agency and the entity managing the resources.
The River Plate Basin comprises the watersheds of the Paraguay, Paraná, Río de la Plata and Uruguay rivers and is home to nearly 130 million inhabitants. The Basin’s hydrocarbons, minerals, agricultural, agroindustrial, and trade sectors generate nearly 80% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
