The Board of Directors of the West African Development Bank (BOAD) held its 109th ordinary meeting at its headquarters in Lomé (Togo), under the chairmanship of Mr. Christian Adovelande, BOAD President and Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Following the approval of the minutes of its 108th Board meeting held on 21 March 2018 in Dakar (Senegal), the Board took note of the report on the 2018 annual review of BOAD credit rating.
The Board also approved eleven new operations including seven medium and long-term loans totaling XOF90.8 billion, a refinancing facility involving XOF10 billion, a short-term loan in an amount of XOF5 billion and equity investments of XOF6 billion.
These operations bring the Bank’s total commitments (all operations combined) to XOF5,201 billion, since the commencement of its operations.
The approved loans cover the partial financing of the following projects:
- Food processing project in Togo-Kara Region. The project relates to i) the development of agro-park of 46 ha; ii) the construction of 3 water dams; iii) the development of 6,500 ha of planned agricultural activity areas, 2,500 ha of swallows and 1,500 ha in total water control; iv) the construction of 130 km of dirt roads; v) the electrification of 14 villages; vi) the construction of 6 mini water supply networks and 80 boreholes equipped with pumps; vii) the setting-up of 10 agricultural processing centres or aggregation centres; and viii) the implementation of support actions and environmental measures. Amount: XOF10 billion.
- Drinking water treatment plant construction project in Côte d’Ivoire. The project forms part of the priority projects under the 2016-2020 national development plan, which serves as a reference framework for public action to public service, development partners, and the private sector. The purpose of the project is the construction of a water treatment plant with a total capacity of 240,000 m³/day in order to supply safe water to the dwellers of the north-eastern part of Abidjan from river “La Mé”. Amount: XOF20 billion.
- Proposed construction of an interchange at Carrefour OUA and 10 km of urban thoroughfares in the township of Sikasso in Mali. The project covers the construction of an interchange of « trumpet » type at the Bongouni-Koutiala junction (RN7-RN11 Intersection); the construction of an overpass of 450.5 m long at Carrefour OUA; and the asphalting of 10 km of urban thoroughfares in the township of Sikasso. Its commissioning will help improve urban mobility at Sikasso in order to make life quality better for the residents and boost trade at national and regional level. Amount: XOF25 billion.
- Proposed planning and asphalting of urban thoroughfares at Zinder in Niger. The project will cover the asphalting in 2 double-lane carriageway of the crossing of Zinder over a stretch of 8.43 km. This road is the urban section of the trunk road RN11, which forms part of the community road CU3a under the WAEMU community programme of action for road transport infrastructure (PACITR) and a link of the trans-Saharan road connecting Algiers to Lagos. The implementation of the project will help reduce the operating cost of vehicles by nearly 50% from the first year and improve urban mobility in the township of Zinder by reducing the travel time on the road by 60%. Amount: XOF10 billion.
- Proposed construction of 1,850 classrooms to replace temporary shelters and associated structures in Senegal: second batch of 500 classrooms. This includes the construction in the 14 administrative regions of Senegal: i) of 500 classrooms equipped to replace temporary shelters, 318 office-stores equipped in primary schools; ii) 16 administrative blocks equipped and 500 m of surrounding walls in the various junior high schools involved; and iii) 10 administrative blocks equipped and 1,000 m of surrounding walls in the various senior high schools. The project will make it possible to meet the demand for classrooms, promoting equal opportunities in the country and improve the quality of school environment. Amount: XOF9.4 billion.
- Proposed rehabilitation of power distribution facilities and business efficiency development of SONABEL in Burkina Faso: PRODEC. The purpose of the project is the acquisition of equipment to upgrade the network of water and power subscriber connections, the improvement and strengthening of commercial management by creating, inter alia, seven new branches. Amount: 12. 890 billion.
- Proposed expansion of shea butter production plant by International Oils & Fats (IOF) at Bobo Dioulasso, in Burkina Faso. The project involves the expansion of the shea butter production plant with a capacity of 360 tons/day by IOF Burkina SA through the installation of a shea butter fractionation unit with a nominal capacity of 100 tons/day. Amount: XOF3.5 billion.
The following operations were also approved:
- Granting of a refinancing facility to BGFI Bank Côte d’Ivoire. The operation is meant for the financing of productive investment projects in sectors eligible for Bank’s support. The facility will enable the institution to increase its productive project financing activity for corporates over the medium term and contribute to economic growth in Côte d’Ivoire. Amount: XOF10 billion.
- Equity investment by BOAD in the capital of ECP Africa Fund IV. The objective set is to reach a size of US$450 million (about XOF238,500 M) in order to complete eight to twelve investments in companies based in the African continent, including three in West Africa. Amount: XOF3 billion.
- Equity investment by BOAD in the capital of Afig Fund II. AFIG Fund II is a general investment fund which seeks a target size of US$180 million (about XOF95,400 M) at the final closing scheduled for the end of June 2018. It aims to: (i) contribute to the growth of companies promoted by Africans in Africa; (ii) foster the development of “regional champions” in Africa by adopting an approach based on the creation of added value and a strong involvement of the manager in governing portfolio companies; (iii) avail of venture capital opportunities offered by companies in the region targeted as part of developing their activities; and (iv) achieve high returns on investments for investors. Amount: XOF3 billion.
- Short-term loan to the Caisse Nationale de Crédit Agricole du Sénégal (CNCAS) for refinancing farming input distribution operations as part of the 2018-2019 crop season. The purpose of the project is to grant a short-term refinancing facility to enable it to provide adequate support to input suppliers for cash requirements. Indeed, the facility will make it possible to purchase about 40,500 tons of inputs, including 37,500 tons of fertilizers (NPK and urea), as well as 3,000 tons of rice seeds. Amount: XOF5 billion.
- Granting of a refinancing facility of €50 million or XOF32.798 billion by the Development Bank of Belarus to BOAD. This loan is meant for refinancing projects using goods and services of Belarusian origin.
The Board expressed favorable opinion on the mid-term review of 2018 financial outlook and the statement of recovery of BOAD loans as at 31 May 2018. Furthermore, it took note of the following items submitted for information:
- Minutes of the ordinary meeting of the WAMU Council of Ministers held on 23 March 2018 at Dakar.
- Amendment to the guarantee profile of the syndicated loan provided by BOAD/Coris Bank International Côte d’Ivoire to ANSUT (national agency for universal telecom/ICT service) as part of the proposed rehabilitation and modernization of the POSTEL 2001 building.
In closing the meeting, President Christian Adovelande sincerely thanked, on behalf of the Board, the Togolese authorities for the warm and fraternal welcome extended to Directors, and the material and organizational arrangements that facilitated the holding of the meeting under congenial conditions.
Original source: BOAD
Published on 27 June 2018
