More than $1b committed by donors as grants, soft loans by end of July

AMMAN – The Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation on Saturday said that the volume of financial assistance, grants and soft loans, committed to by donor partners was $1.061 billion between January and July of this year. 

Figures showed that the value of grants was $632 million, while low-interest loans reached $429 million, according to a ministry statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times. 

The Saudi Fund for Development extended grants worth $258 million to finance several development schemes in the health, IT and infrastructure sectors, said the report, adding the grants were part of the Saudi share in the $5 billion, five-year grant allocated for Jordan by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in 2011. 

Abu Dhabi Fund for Development also extended grants to cover the UAE’s share in the GCC grant by offering $229 million to finance key schemes in the energy and higher education sectors.  

Grant deals by the EU, worth around $66 million and used to support education projects, were signed in April and July of this year, said the ministry. 

Grants by Japan stood at $16.6 million. 

Germany also provide the Kingdom with around $22 million to enhance water and sewage networks, said the ministry, underlying a US grant of 100 tonnes of wheat , whose $25 million deal was signed in May.

Countries and agencies that extended soft loans to Jordan included Japan ($196 million), the World Bank ($50 million), the Kuwaiti-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development ($154 million), the International Fund for Agricultural Development ($10.8 million) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development ($18 million). 

The said Japanese loan will be used to support the state budget, according to the report.