Contacts:
In Washington: Gabriela Aguilar (202) 473-6768
gaguilar2@worldbank.org
Patricia da Camara (202) 473-4019
pdacamara@worldbank.org WASHINGTON, June 28, 2007 - The World Bank’s Board of Directors today approved three loans for Argentina for a total of US$870 million to support infrastructure and social programs, as well as a US$7 million grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for biodiversity conservation. “We are very pleased to continue our strong support for social and infrastructure programs in Argentina. The social and economic objectives addressed in these loans reflect the Government’s commitment to expand the benefits of the strong economic growth of recent years to all Argentines,” said Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Country Director for Argentina, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay. “We are also gratified by the strength of our partnership with the Argentine authorities—Argentina is the Bank’s largest borrower in fiscal year 2007—and we look forward to continued close and productive engagement as the country strengthens the foundation for sustainable, long-term development.” Lifelong Learning and Training Project (US$200 million) This project, supported by a US$200 million loan, will help develop job skills and employability for unemployed and poor workers in Argentina through training and adult education. The larger, strategic goal of the operation is to help the national government increase links between the education system and the labor market. The project will support the Ministry of Labor’s transition strategy for the Heads of Household Program, namely by increasing its efforts to help beneficiaries find employment through participation in training and adult education courses as well as through individually-oriented employment services. In particular, the project will help: - Expand and strengthen training, assessment and certification of workers.
- Promote innovations in adult education in order to improve quality and expand the opportunity to complete basic and secondary education.
- Promote youth employment, provide employment and career orientation through municipal employment offices, facilitate training and education opportunities, and organize internships with employers.
- Strengthen management information systems for competency-based learning and training.
The US$200 million loan is repayable in 15 years, and includes a five-year grace period. Second Phase of the National Highway Asset Management Project (US$400 million) The loan will continue the improvements to the national road network supported under the first phase of the operation. This will help Argentina sustain economic growth, increase productivity and competitiveness, and promote regional economic convergence. This project builds on the achievements of the first phase of the program, originally supported by a US$200 million World Bank loan approved in June 2004. The project will provide support to: - Finance performance-based rehabilitation and maintenance contracts (CREMA) to cover at least 75 percent of the paved non-concessioned road network.
- Design a results-focused road safety initiative setting out the institutional arrangements required for its implementation.
- Restore 13 bridges and carry out design studies for the restoration of another 20 bridges.
- Strengthen the National Roads Directorate through improved technical and institutional capacity.
This US$400 million loan is repayable in 15 years, and includes a five-year grace period. Second Phase of the Buenos Aires Infrastructure Sustainable Investment Development Project (US$270 million)
This loan for US$270 million will support key investments in the road sector to strengthen productivity in Buenos Aires Province. In addition, it will improve the social and environmental welfare of millions of mostly poor people in the Greater Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires through the provision of transport, water and sanitation and drainage services. The project builds on the achievements of the first phase of the operation, which was originally supported by a US$200 million World Bank loan approved in December 2004.
The project will help:
· Rehabilitate high-priority segments of the provincial road network, remove critical bottlenecks, and implement a maintenance program to reduce transport costs and improve competitiveness. - Expand water and sewerage services to approximately 450,000 low-income people living within the Greater Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires.
- Finance drainage projects in 1,200 hectares of urban and peri-urban areas to mitigate the effects of flooding, which cause significant losses to poor households--over past two years flooding has caused US$50 million of damage and affected approximately 500,000 people.
· Build a framework for provincial development and strengthen the institutional capacity in the public entities involved in project execution.
This US$270 million loan is repayable in 11 years, and includes a four-year grace period. Strong Governance Cooperation Both the Provincial Infrastructure Development project and the National Highways project seek to ensure continued strong governance efforts begun during their first phases. Key measures include a strengthened price monitoring mechanism, greater transparency in bidding processes, and consistency with the Bank’s portfolio-wide Fiduciary Action Plan, agreed with the Government as part of the 2006 Country Assistance Strategy (www.worldbank.org/ar). The Action Plan, which provides for disclosure and publication of fiduciary information on Bank-financed projects, increased participation of civil society in the monitoring and evaluation of the Bank’s portfolio, and enhanced transparency and competition in public procurement. Biodiversity Conservation in Productive Forestry Landscapes Project (US$7 million) The US$7 million GEF grant will integrate environmental and economic goals by mainstreaming biodiversity conservation methods into plantation forestry practices, and by ensuring that growth in the sector goes hand-in-hand with the protection of globally and regionally important biodiversity. The project will be implemented by Argentina’s Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, and Food (SAGPyA). By integrating and institutionalizing conservation practices into plantation development and providing the tools, knowledge, and incentives to land owners and policy makers, the project will contribute to Argentina’s economic development while fostering global environmental sustainability and biodiversity conservation. Properly managed, plantation forests do not compromise biodiversity and can provide multiple values. Plantations also reduce deforestation in remaining native forests; plantations now provide 80-90% of the domestic wood supply in Argentina and virtually all of the wood for export.
The World Bank Group is one of GEF’s implementing agencies and supports countries in preparing GEF co-financed projects and supervising their implementation. The Bank plays the primary role in ensuring the development and management of investment projects. ### For more information on these projects, please visit: StateLifelong Learning and Training Project http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=500337&menuPK=500369&Projectid=P095514 Second Phase of the National Highway Asset Management Project http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=500337&menuPK=500369&Projectid=P095569 Buenos AiresInfrastructure Sustainable Investment Development Project http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=500337&menuPK=500369&Projectid=P105288 Biodiversity in Productive Forestry Landscapes Project http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/main?pagePK=64283627&piPK=73230&theSitePK=40941&menuPK=228424&Projectid=P094425 For more information on the World Bank’s work in Argentina, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/aror http://www.bancomundialinfo.org For more information on GEF, please visit:http://www.gefweb.org. |
RSS