The African Development Bank (ADB) will provide financing of 10 million dollars (9.9 million euros) to Cape Verde to support measures to mitigate the crisis caused by the rise in prices, the first announced on Monday. anger minister.
A budget aid of US$10 million was agreed to support Cabo at this stage, to support measures to face the inflationary crisis and a set of projects that are also underway,” Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva said in a statement. . journalists about the meeting, last Saturday, in Côte d’Ivoire, with the president of the ADB, Akinwumi Adesina.
The only measures to alleviate fuel price increases due to the conflict in Ukraine will require a financial effort of 45.3 million euros by the State of Cape VerdeAs stated earlier this month by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Energy, Alexandre Monteiro, at a press conference to announce new measures to mitigate the impact of the war, on the day the average value of fuel sales increased in the country. by more than 25%, effective during the month of July.
The archipelago is facing a deep economic and financial crisis, due to the sharp drop in tourist demand since March 2020, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, it registered a historic economic recession, equivalent to 14.8% of GDP, followed by 7% growth in 2021, driven by the recovery in tourism demand. By 2022, due to the economic consequences of the war in Ukraine, namely the increase in prices, the Government of Cape Verde lowered its growth forecast from 6% to 4%.
According to the head of government, the ADB is an institution with which “Cape Verde has very strong relations in terms of investment and financing”.
“We must remember that the port of Maio is financed by the ADB, the Technological Park, and there are other programs that will fundamentally target the value chain of the agricultural sector. A program also aimed at youth entrepreneurship, which is being worked on, has finished to be implemented”, Ulisses Correia e Silva highlighted this Monday.
The prime minister had previously announced that the president of the ADB accepted the invitation from the Cape Verdean government to inaugurate, in September, the works of the port of Maio.
The island of Maio has around 7,000 inhabitants, being the third least populated in the archipelago and emblematic of its salt activity since the 17th century.
The rehabilitation work of Porto Inglês, on that island, is one of the largest public contracts underway in the country and has been in charge of Teixeira Duarte since 2019, in consortium with another Portuguese company and a Cape Verdean company, awarded for 1,910 million shields ( €17.2 million).
The work is part of the “Extension and modernization of the English ports (Isla de Maio) and Palmeira (Isla de Sal)”, of 35 million euros, with 50% financing from the ADB.
The contract, with an estimated contractual duration of 18 months, is being executed by the Portuguese companies Teixeira Duarte (37%) and SETH Sociedade de Empreitadas (33%), together with Armando Cunha Cabo Verde SA (30%).
According to previous information from the Government, the two works of the project financed by ADB will reinforce the service level of the ports of the islands of Maio and Sal, and “will improve the living conditions of the people in the area of direct influence.” ” from work.
The improvement will be more evident in Maio, where the ADB allocated another 1.5 million euros for investments in the access road to the port and in a support program for youth and women on the island.
Source: Observadora
