IDB issues $1.5 billion grant for development projects in region

ANTIGUA, Guatemala – Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno on Thursday announced in Guatemala the agency has authorized a $1.6 billion grant for aid projects in Central America and the Dominican Republic for 2013.

During a meeting of IDB representatives in the region – ahead of a March IDB General Assembly in Panama – Moreno said the bank also had approved an additional $1.7 billion loan package for the region.

The loan program will focus on financing projects for social development, transport, infrastructure, rural credit, risk management and climate change adaptation, he said.

IDB representatives from the region are meeting in Antigua to discuss the challenges the region faces to achieve its aspirations for economic growth and poverty reduction.

In 2012 IDB approved loans totaling $2.1 million for Central America and the Dominican Republic, Moreno said.