(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) signed a loan agreement with the Tunisian government on Wednesday under which the fund will channel USD 50 million for Tunisia to launch a power-generating station in the eastern province of Sousse.
The document was signed by Suleiman J. Al-Herbish, OFID Director-General, on one hand, and Tunisian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Riadh Bettaieb and assistant director-general of the Tunisian Company of Electricity and Gas (STEG) Al-Hachemi Al-Semasi, on the other.
The loan is refundable over twenty years with a five-year grace period and a 3.7 percent interest rate.
Speaking to reporters after the signing ceremony, Al-Herbish reaffirmed OFID's desire to pursue cooperation with Tunisia and contribute to development projects particularly in the energy sector.
"The Fund has maintained fruitful cooperation with Tunisia over the last 34 years and offered a total of USD 254 million to 11 public sector projects and six private sector ones," he noted.
Tunisia is one of the main beneficiaries of the Fund's financing for development projects in 132 countries, he added.
Meanwhile, Bettaieb welcomed today's agreement as crucial for the completion of the power generating station by 2015.
"The station, costing up to 690 Tunisian dinars (USD 441.8 million), is designed to produce some 400 megawatts in order to meet the growing demand," the minister added.
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