The first finance contract (US$8.8 million), which was signed earlier last week, is mainly geared to support small and medium sized enterprises as part of the European Investment Bank’s priority focus on private sector development.
Projects in the manufacturing, industrial, agricultural, infrastructure, energy, health, education and tourism sectors will benefit from easier access to finance.
Chairman of the Board of the AID Bank, Mr. Ambrose Sylvester expressed his delight at this new line of credit from the EIB.
“This line of credit is extremely important to both the AID Bank and the Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica at this time of challenges resulting from the global financial crisis and will greatly support the Government of Dominica’s efforts towards job creation, foreign exchange earnings and growth and expansion of the local economy by making available financing on affordable terms to viable projects in the sectors which have been targeted,” Mr. Sylvester said.
A second finance contract valued at US$1.3 million will focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. This contract is expected to be signed at a later date.
This is the third line of credit from the European Investment Bank to the Dominica AID Bank. The previous line of credit was in 1998.
The Dominica Agricultural, Industrial and Development Bank is the only development bank in Dominica. It began in 1971 and is mandated to promote and influence the economic development of Dominica by providing financing to viable projects in the productive and service sectors of the Commonwealth of Dominica.
The projects funded under previous lines of credit from the European Investment Bank include several tourism accommodation facilities, a telecommunications operation and a major tourism attraction.
For the financial year ended June 30, 2010, the AID Bank approved loans totalling $41.9 million ECD or US$15.52, the highest level of approvals recorded in any one year in the history of the institution.
