The Diplomat
The Spanish Government has approved the granting of loans for a total value of approximately 30 million euros to carry out various actions in three African countries: Uganda, Ivory Coast and Senegal.
The loans, all of which are charged to the Company Internationalization Fund and approved in the last Council of Ministers, are repayable under OECD conditions.
The granting of this aid is intended to facilitate the access of Spanish companies to the markets of these countries, in some of which, such as Uganda, their presence is scarce. The three countries are considered priorities in the “Horizon Africa” Commercial and Financial Strategy.
Specifically, two loans totaling 25.9 million euros were approved for Uganda for the urgent rehabilitation of 28 kilometers of the Mabala-Kampala railway line. This 250-kilometer line, on the border with Kenya, is a key route for Uganda’s communication with Kenya, the country through which a large part of Uganda’s imports and exports pass.
Côte d’Ivoire will receive a loan of almost 3 million euros to finance the supply, installation and commissioning of 67 hydrometric stations and 21 solar-powered pumping stations.
The Ministry of Hydraulics of the Ivory Coast has a program of more than 500 villages to be equipped with water pumping systems for human consumption and, if the experience is positive, a significant number of them will be equipped with solar systems, Spanish technology being in the best position to carry out these new projects, according to the Executive, which emphasizes that 85% of the value of the export contract corresponds to Spanish goods and services.
Finally, a credit of about 1.3 million euros was approved for Senegal to finance the supply of a feed mill to Mbacke Trading Company SUAR.
The project consists of the pre-design, engineering, procurement, construction, erection, commissioning, start-up, control and validation of a feed mill with a capacity of 20-24 tons/hour. The impact of the agreement implies an export drag, since more than 90% of the exported goods and services are Spanish, according to the Spanish government, which also points out that there is a high growth potential in the feed sector in Senegal.
