A Loan Agreement was signed today in Ouagadougou between Burkina Faso and Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development, whereby the Fund will provide a loan in the amount of KD 3,300,000 (Equivalent to about US$ 11,220,000) to assist in the financing of Building and Equipping a Regional Hospital Center Project in Manga City in Burkina Faso.

The Loan Agreement was signed on behalf of Burkina Faso by H.E. Saint Mari Bamba, Minister of Finance, and was signed on behalf of the Fund by Mr. Ghanem Sulaiman Al-Ghenaiman, Deputy Director-General of Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.

The aim of the project is to enhance the development of the health sector, by improving the quality and efficiency of medical coverage as well as meeting the increasing need for the provision of modern medical care and specialized diagnostic and therapeutic services, for the people of the Central South Region in Burkina Faso, through building and equipping a regional hospital center, and providing a qualified medical and administrative cadre.

The Project includes the construction of buildings and facilities for a regional hospital for modern medical care and specialized diagnostic and therapeutic services in the city of Manga with a total building area of about 13,000 square meters with the capacity of 200 beds capacity, in addition to the external infrastructure such as the outside fence, roads, facilities and networks for water, electricity and sewerage services.  The project includes also supply and installation of medical equipment and accessories, furniture and ambulances as well as training program for doctors and medical staff in addition to consultancy services for the preparation of detailed designs and construction supervision and quality control.

The total cost of the project including contingencies and interest during construction is estimated at about CFA 13.864 million (equivalent to about 8.155 million Kuwaiti Dinars), of which 40.5% shall be covered by the Fund. 

The loan shall be for a period of 26 years including 3 years grace period.  The loan bears interest at 1.5% per annum, in addition to 0.5% per annum to cover administrative and other expenses incurred in the implementation of the Loan Agreement.

By signing this Loan Agreement the Fund would have provided to Burkina Faso 15 Loans.  As the Fund has previously provided to Burkina Faso 14 Loans totaling about 46.9 million Kuwaiti Dinars (Equivalent to about 160 million US Dollars) to assist in financing project in various sectors.