Loan for $70 million to finance water services, infrastructure, risk management, micro enterprises, and fiscal sustainability
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced the approval of a $70 million loan to Colombia to help improve socioeconomic conditions in the San Andrés, Providencia, and Santa Catalina Archipelago.
The project aims to improve living conditions for low-income people in urban areas in central San Andrés and in the vicinity of the island’s main beaches by expanding the coverage and quality of water and sanitation services for households, improving infrastructure and risk managementalong the coast, supporting micro- and small-scale enterprises, and strengthening institutions for fiscal sustainability.
By 2018 it is expected that the project will connect 2,500 new households to the piped water network and carry out six neighborhood improvement initiatives. In addition, the project will expand potable water supply capacity for rural areas, construct a pedestrian promenade between Spratt Bright and the island’s northeast sector, complete 350 household sanitation solutions, and restore 1.1 km of eroded beaches,among others.
In the fiscal area, the project will address challenges in income generation and public sector capacity to carry out and sustain investments by strengthening tax collection to achieve potential levels and improving public investment management capabilities to promote the archipelago’s development.
The IDB loan for $70 million has a 15-year grace period, an interest rate based on LIBOR, and a term of 15 years.