Contacts: In Buenos Aires: Yanina Budkin (54-11) 4316-9724 ybudkin@worldbank.orgIn Washington: Gabriela Aguilar (202) 473-6768 gaguilar2@worldbank.org Washington DC, June 9, 2009.- The Board of Directors of the World Bank today endorsed the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Argentina until 2012, and allocated US$3.3 billion for its execution. The Board also approved two projects, the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development Project for US$840 million and the Basic Protection Project for US$450 million, totaling almost US$1.3 billion in new lending. "We are working with Argentina to help maintain key social expenditures in the context of the global economic crisis and address longer term social and sustainable growth issues,” said Pedro Alba, World Bank Country Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. “The new strategy is focused on supporting Argentina to advance its own development agenda, and the two projects are good examples of this support. The Social Protection Project will help Argentina strengthen its social safety net, while the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Project will help the authorities address perhaps the most visible environmental challenge of the country.” Economic and Public Finance Minister, Carlos Fernández, said “These operations allow the Government to strengthen counter cyclical policies to mitigate the impact of the international crisis.” The proposed Country Partnership Strategy 2010-2012 (CPS) seeks to advance the Government’s development vision by providing strategic support in three key areas: · Sustainable growth with equity · Social inclusion · Improved governance Together with the Government of Argentina, it was agreed that the bank will provide support in the following areas: · Upgrade infrastructure to address potential bottlenecks to competitiveness, and underpin medium-term growth and poverty alleviation. · Improve competitiveness, quality, and exports of agriculture and livestock production. · Address a growing problem of natural resource degradation. · Consolidate and expand progress in reducing poverty by increasing household incomes and integrating marginalized groups into the productive marketplace. · Consolidate improvements in health indicators. · Strengthen the effectiveness, efficiency, transparency and accountability of the public sector. · Expand performance management and improve the quality of public expenditure and enhance service delivery outcomes and trust in institutions. Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development Project Matanza-Riachuelo is the most contaminated river basin in Argentina and the most visible environmental issue in the country. The basin is home to Argentina’s largest concentration of urban poor. Of the approximately 3.5 million inhabitants in the basin, 1.2 million live below the poverty line. The Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development Project will: · Improve sewerage services in the M-R River Basin and other parts of the Province and City of Buenos Aires by expanding transport and treatment capacity; · Support a reduction of industrial discharges to the M-R River, through the provision of industrial conversion grants to small and medium enterprises; · Promote improved decision-making for environmentally-sustainable land use and drainage planning, and to pilot urban drainage and land use investments, in the M-R River Basin; and · Strengthen ACUMAR’s institutional framework for ongoing and sustainable clean-up of the M-R River Basin. The government’s medium to long term objective for the sustainable management of the basin is the progressive elimination of point source discharges to the M-R River, which would result in water quality improvements in a 15 – 20 year timeframe. The Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development Project is supported by a US$840 million fixed-spread loan payable in 30 years, including 5 years of grace. The loan is the first of two loans under a 10-year Adaptable Program Lending (APL) package. Basic Protection Project The Basic Protection project for US$450 million will increase the effectiveness of Argentina’s income transfer programs for the unemployed and families with children, by supporting the Family Allowances and Employment and Training Insurance (Seguro de Capacitación y Empleo) Programs. ”We are proud to support the Government’s efforts to continue building a strong and inclusive safety net to help mitigate the impact on the poor of the global economic crisis,” said Rafael Rofman, World Bank Project Manager. Benefits under the “Family Allowances” program (Asignaciones Familiares) are targeted to low and middle income formal salaried workers earning less than AR$4,800 who represent approximately 85 percent of the formal labor force, or 30% of the households in the country. On the other hand, “Employment and Training Insurance” is the Government’s main instrument for assistance to the unemployed. It provides beneficiaries with a monthly benefit for up to two years, ranging from AR$200-275. In addition, participants receive job search support through municipal employment offices and the network of employment services, including: labor intermediation services for public and private sector employment, basic and professional training, participation in training courses, and technical assistance for starting small businesses. The Basic Protection Project would be financed by a US$450 million Specific Investment Loan (SIL) with 30 years maturity and a grace period of 5 years. For more information about the Country Partnership Strategy please visit: www.bancomundial.org.ar For more information on the Matanza-Riachuelo Basin Sustainable Development Project please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P105680 For more information on the Basic Protection project please visit: http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P115183
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