The Ministry of International Cooperation signed a loan worth $27m with the OPEC Fund for International Development to support Ain Shams Specialized Hospital.
This came on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The signing took place between Minister of International Cooperation Naglaa Al-Ahwani and the Fund’s Director General Suleiman Al-Herbish.
The agreed upon terms specify the loan has a 3.5% interest rate, and a repayment period of 25 years.
The loan is to be injected into the establishing and equipping of modern integrated centres for tumours and neurosurgery at the hospital.
Furthermore, the loan will contribute towards the construction of a five floor building that is to be established on a total area of 7000sqm. It will also finance advisory services needed for the project.
Meanwhile, the current cooperation portfolio between the fund and Egypt amounts to approximately $300m for supporting nine projects.
Egypt and the OPEC Fund have had strong ties since 1976, with the fund supporting 21 projects in the country providing finances worth approximately $505m. Loans were injected for financing development projects in various sectors in the country.
In addition to the loans, the fund had also provided a total of 26 grants to Egypt worth a total of $24.6m.
Approximately $266m has been provided by the Fund for supporting the private sector, as well as financing trade operations.
