CDB approves funding for regional projects

The Barbados-based Carib-bean Development Bank (CDB) has approved more than US$19 million for projects in several regional countries.

The board of directors meeting here ahead of the CDB's board of governors annual meeting on Wednesday approved a US$15.67 million loan to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for a natural disaster management project that is designed to assist the BVI in rehabilitating infrastructure damaged by Tropical Storm Otto, while reducing risks associated with heavy rainfall.

"This assistance will have three main components rehabilitating and reconstructing road and drainage infrastructure to internationally acceptable standards; providing institutional strengthening by conducting a drainage assessment for storm-water flood risk reduction in the Road Town catchment area, and providing assistance for drafting regulations pursuant to the Physical Planning Act, 2004," said the CDB.

The CDB also approved a US$2.5 million loan to Montserrat to build a permanent power station on the British Overseas Territory.

The bank said that the project will enable Montserrat Utilities Limited "to provide an efficient, secure and reliable electricity service, and will facilitate increased activity in the productive sectors that would stimulate economic growth in the medium term".

CDB is also providing Montserrat with a US$364,170 grant for financing specified technical assistance components, including the development of an Environment, Health and Safety Management System, and undertaking a Cost of Service and tariff Study to provide Montserrat Utilities Limited with an efficient pricing mechanism and rate structure for all categories of customers in the electricity and water segments of the business.

fund for agri research

The Trinidad-based Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) has been given a US$285,000 grant to support research into the problems that limit the production of vegetables under protected agriculture systems in the Caribbean.

The research will be undertaken in two countries - Trinidad and Tobago and St Lucia - and the CDB said they had been chosen "because they provide the range of agro-ecological zones in which protected agriculture systems are used in the Caribbean".

The Caribbean Institute for Meteorology and Hydrology (CIMH) will also benefit from a US$291,500 grant from the CDB for a project which will help its borrowing member countries address disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation issues.

"This financing will allow CIMH to rescue and digitise historic meteorological and hydrological data sets, and to establish an electronic database to securely archive the data. It will also facilitate the access and exchange of data between the institute and its member countries. An electronic hydro-meteorological database archived at CIMH will allow it to better fulfil its mandate to its member countries," the CDB said.

It said that the grant will also finance activities that include short-term specialised consultancy services for data rescue, design, population and maintenance of the database, initial IT operational support and the purchase of the required hardware and software.

- CMC