The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) held its 107th ordinary session at the headquarters of the Central Bank of West African States (BCEAO) in Dakar (Senegal) under the chairmanship of Mr Christian Adovelande, Chairman of the Board and President of BOAD.
The Board, after having approved the minutes of its 106th session held on 27 September 2017 in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), examined and approved the 2017-2021 financial outlook update, the 2018-2020 programme-budget and the proposed renewal of the mandate of the Audit Committee members.
The Board also approved new operations, including four medium and long-term loans in a total amount of XOF40.6 billion, a short-term loan of XOF10 billion and a bond loan guarantee of XOF7.5 billion. These operations bring BOAD’s total commitments (all operations included) to XOF4,921.4 billion.
Loans approved were meant for the partial funding of the following projects:
- Loan proposal for the partial financing of the Bamako water project from the Kabala district in Mali. The Bank’s loan will be used to finance the rehabilitation of the water supply system in Bamako and its surrounding areas through the construction of a water distribution network over a total distance of 98 km; the implementation of 7,125 social connections; and the construction of 188 public standpipes. Loan amount: XOF5 billion.
- Loan proposal for partial financing of the rehabilitation and upgrading of infrastructure at the Port of Bissau in Guinea Bissau. This rehabilitation project will involve civil engineering works on the quay, container terminal surface and dredging of the access canal and port basin. Also, a 15/0.4 kV medium voltage (MV) substation will be constructed and new handling facilities and IT equipment will be acquired to manage port operations. Loan amount: XOF15 billion.
- Rehabilitation and upgrading of the movement areas of the San Pedro airport in Côte d’Ivoire. The purpose of the project is the rehabilitation and upgrading of the runway of the San Pedro airport over a resurfaced platform of 30 m wide and 2,100 m long, and of other movement areas (parking lot and access ramp) as well as related works. It will contribute to improved security and safety of aeronautical activities by bringing facilities to standards, and opening up and developing the San Pedro area. Loan amount: XOF14.578 billion.
- Proposed granting of a refinancing facility to Banque Commerciale du Sahel (BCS SA) in Mali. The refinancing facility will be used in refinancing productive projects in sectors eligible for financing by the Bank, as part of the second program initiated by BOAD and KfW to support small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) in the WAEMU region by improving their access to credit from the commercial banking sector. Loan amount: XOF6 billion.
- Proposed readjustment of the Bank’s loan conditions for the partial financing of the telecommunication network construction project by Alpha Telecommunication Mali (ATEL Mali). The project involved the construction and operation of a telecommunication network (telephony and internet) in Mali. The company’s target is to hold 3% of the market share in year 1 (937,000 subscribers) and 10% of the market share in year 4 (3,992,000 subscribers): Loan amount: XOF11 billion.
- Proposal for a short-term loan facility to Coris Bank International (CBI) for the partial financing of loans granted as part of the 2017-2018 cotton season in Burkina Faso. The proposed facility will be used to strengthen CBI’s short-term loans to enable it to adequately support the cash requirements of the targeted companies (SOFITEX, SOCOMA, SN CITEC). Loan amount: XOF10 billion
- Proposal for a partial guarantee of SENELEC’s 2017-2024 6.5% bond issue by public offering of an amount XOF30,000 M. The bond issue will contribute to the financing of SENELEC’s 2016-2019 priority action plan (PAP) involving a total cost of XOF285 billion. By guaranteeing this operation, BOAD will contribute to improving the quality of energy products and services targeted by the priority action plan. Guaranteed amount:5 billion
The Board also delivered a favourable opinion on the statement of recovery of BOAD loans as of 30 November 2017. They also took note of the following items:
- Proposed establishment of a financial management system at BOAD.
- Minutes of the 26th meeting of the BOAD Audit Committee.
- Minutes of the ordinary session of the WAMU Council of Ministers held on 29 September 2017 in Abidjan.
In closing the session, the Board Chairman, Mr. Christian Adovelande, on behalf of the Board of Directors, thanked the Senegalese authorities and the Governor of BCEAO for the warm and brotherly hospitality extended to the Board members, as well as for the logistic and organizational arrangements that facilitated the holding of this session under congenial conditions.
Original source: BOAD
Published on 13 December 2017