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 i -t=oit IMMEDIATE RELEA ·e ·,

,_World Bank
 18'18 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234



    SUMMARY NEWS RELEASE                                                               May 21, 1981

                       WORLD BANK AND IDA APPROVE $158.5 MILLION IN LOANS TO COLOMBIA
                    KENYA, TUNISIA~ PEbPLE'~ DEMOCRATIC .kEPUBLIC OF jEMtN, AND ZIMBABWE
             The World Bank and its affi 1 iate for concessionary lending, the Inter-
    national Development Assoclation (IDA), have arproved loans totaling $158.5
    million to Colombia, Kenya, Tunisia, People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, and Zimbabwe.
             Colombia will US4~ 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-
    cludi~g nearly 1,500 land reform beneficiaries, will benefit from the increased
    production of rice, other crops, and livestock.
             In Kenya, a World Bank loan of $25 million combined with an IDA credit of
    SOR 8.2 miilion 1$10 milli1on) will help provide a line of credit to farmers 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
     i ~ the N?rthwes t ,reg i ?n, one of. the poo i:-es t reg i o~.s,_ in the country.
                                                                          The project
     aims to ~~crease the income and improve the nutrition, hea1th, and education ~f
     the people. Measures will also be taken to reduce ~~il erosion. Some ~O 400 farm
     families will benefit from the expected substantial increase in meat and ~ilk pro-
     duction. Food and industrial crops production should also increase.

               The People's Dem~>cratic Republic of Yemen w1 I I receive two IDA credits
     amounting to SOR 16.9 million ($20.5 million): a credit of SDR 10.3 million
     ($12.5 mil~ion) for a third highway project to construct a 92-kilometer road connect-
     ing Ataq and other towns ii n the i so 1ated Shabwah Governorate with the Aden-Muka 11 ah
     highway; and a credit of SOR 6.6 mi 11 ion ($8 mi 11 ion) for an agricultural develop-
     ment project in the Beihan subgovernorate to benefit some 5,000 farm families mainly
     by rehabi I itating the spate i rrig&tion network and improving the groundwater i rriga-
     tion system of Wadi Beihan.
              Zimbabwe will receive a $42 million World Bank loan to help flnance the
     import of spare parts and track maintenance equipment, and tools 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 SOR amount of the IDA credit reflects the exchange rates existing Bt
               the time of negotiation of the credit.