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    SUMMARY NEWS RELEASE                                                         May 21 , 1981

                      WORLD BANK AND IDA APPROVE $158.5 MILLION IN LOANS TO COLOMBIA
                   KENYA, TUNISIA, PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC ~EPUBLIC OF iE~tN, AND ZIMBABW~
             The World Bank and its affiliate for concessionary lending, the Inter-
    national Development Association (IDA), have arproved loans totaling $158.5
    million to Colombia, Kenya, Tunisia, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
              Colombia will use a $37 million World Bank loan to help finance for the
     first time in the country a project to carry out the rehabilitation of irrigation
     and drainage systems covering some 47,000 hectares, including about 11,300 hectares
     to be fully equipped for irrigation and drainage. Some 4,700 farm families, in-
     cluding nearly 1,500 land reform beneficiaries, will benefit from the increased
     production of rice, other crops, and livestock.
               In Ke_nya, a World Bank loan of $25 million combined with an IDA credit of
     SDR 8.2 million ($10 million) will help provide a line of credit to fafmers and
     strengthen the capability of the Agricultural Finance Corporation to serve them •



•             In Tunisia, a $24 million World Bank loan will go to a rural development project
     in the N~rthwest region, one o~ the poorest region~ in the country. The project
     aims to increase the income and improve the nutrition, health, and education of
     the people. Measures will also be taken to reduce soil erosion. Some 20,400 farm
     families will benefit from the expected substantial increase in meat and milk pro-
     duction. Food and industrial crops production should also increase.

               The People's Democratic_~public of Yemen w, 1 I receive two IDA credits
     amounting to SDR 16.9 million {$20.5 million): a credit of SDR 10.3 million
     ($12.5 million) for a third highway project to construct a 92-kilometer road connect-
     ing Ataq and other towns in the isolated Shabwah Governorate with the Aden-Mukallah
     highway; and a credit of SDR 6.6 mill ion ($8 mill Jon) for an agricultural develop-
     ment project in the Beihan subgovernorate t0 benefit some 5,000 farm families mainly
     by rehabilitating the spate irrigation network and improving the groundwater irriga-
     tion system of Wadi Beihan.
              Zimbabwe will receive a $42 million World Bank loan to help finance the
     import of spare parts and track maintenance equipment, and too1s for the National
     Railways of Zimbabwe and road construction equipment for the Central Mechanical
     Equipment Department, and the provision of technical assistance. The rehabilitation
     of the transport system will help the postwar rehabilitation and reconstruction of
     the country's economy.

                  The IDA credits will be committed when funds are available .



•     NOTE:    IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are
               valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent
               of the SDR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing at
               the time of negotiation of the credit.