OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has approved a US$50 million (approximately MVR 772 million) loan to the Maldives.
In a statement released following the 166th Governing Board meeting of OFID in Vienna, Australia, it was stated that OFID would offer six developing countries a total sum of US$ 225 million as loans.
OFID said urban development projects will be implemented using the loan funds, and that it would help upgrade harbors and water supply and sewerage systems to boost economic development, health and living conditions of about 20,000 people across 13 islands.
According to statistics released by the Finance Ministry, the government has been repaying 57 different loans in the last forty years. 99 loans were taken out since 1979 until 2018. The most number of loans were borrowed from Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and Asian Envelopment Bank (ADB). Loans were most frequently taken in 2008, where 20 loans were taken between February and September 2008.
