CDB Provides US$5.3 million for St. Vincent and the Grenadines Volcano Recovery

Media Release Courtesy the Caribbean Development Bank

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – The Caribbean Development Bank, (CDB) has approved financing of US$5.3 million (mn) for St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) to support the response to the La Soufriere volcanic eruption which ravaged parts of the country in April 2021.

CDB President, Dr. Gene Leon, who was in the country on an official visit, announced that the Bank has approved an Immediate Response Loan of US$ 5 million as well as an Emergency Assistance Grant of US$300,000.  

Speaking at a press conference which was held at the Office of the Prime Minister in Kingstown, St. Vincent, Dr. Leon said the Bank will also be accelerating the disbursement of funds for its development projects currently being implemented in the country.

“While we are supporting the recovery, CDB will also be bolstering the country’s development agenda by financing high priority projects that have transformative value,” the CDB President said.

Among the interventions is a US$142.5 million initiative to modernise the Kingstown Port. The project, which is being partially financed by the United Kingdom Caribbean Infrastructure Partnership Fund (UKCIF) will entail the construction of a new cargo port in the capital and upgrading of associated roadways to improve traffic flow in the central business district of Kingstown. Construction work is expected to commence in 2022.

St. Vincent and the Grenadines is also set to benefit from the 10th cycle of CDB’s Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) which will finance projects designed to increase access to education and improve conditions in low-income and vulnerable communities. Another initiative is the US $13.6 million School Improvement Project which will see nine schools being rehabilitated to enhance early childhood education.

Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Hon. Dr. Ralph Gonsalves said,

“From the time CDB became operational in 1970, it has had a tremendous impact on the development of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and as we face the current challenges, I am impressed with the programmatic elements of the solutions the new team is providing and I appreciate their approach to partnership.”

Dr. Leon and a delegation from CDB were in St Vincent and the Grenadines for an outreach visit which ran until Sunday July 25, 2021. 

 

About the Caribbean Development Bank:

The Caribbean Development Bank is a regional financial institution established in 1970 for the purpose of contributing to the harmonious economic growth and development of its Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs). In addition to the 19 BMCs, CDB’s membership includes four regional non-borrowing members – Brazil, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela and five non-regional, non-borrowing members; i.e., Canada, China, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom. CDB’s total assets as at December 31, 2019 stood at US$ 3.59 billion (bn). These include US$2.1 bn of Ordinary Capital Resources and US$1.49 bn of Special Funds Resources. The Bank is rated Aa1 Stable with Moody’s, AA+ Stable with Standard & Poor’s and AA+ Stable with FitchRatings. Read more at caribank.org.

 

Camille Taylor

Head, Corporate Communications, Caribbean Development Bank

Tahira Carter

Senior Communications Specialist, Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

OECS Communications Unit

Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States

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The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is an International Organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance among independent and non-independent countries in the Eastern Caribbean. The OECS came into being on June 18th 1981, when seven Eastern Caribbean countries signed a treaty agreeing to cooperate with each other while promoting unity and solidarity among its Members. The Treaty became known as the Treaty of Basseterre, so named in honour of the capital city of St. Kitts and Nevis where it was signed. The OECS today, currently has eleven members, spread across the Eastern Caribbean comprising Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Martinique and Guadeloupe. 

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