The World Bank announced the approval of a US$150 million loan for the DR to to support the government’s strategy for the stabilization of power supply and the financial recovery of the power sector. Caroline Anstey, World Bank Country Director for the Caribbean made the announcement. She highlighted that “tackling the problems of the electricity sector is essential for achieving social stability, economic growth and competitiveness for the Dominican Republic and its people.”
The Programmatic Power Sector Reform Loan will support improved cash recovery in the sector, which is indispensable for financial sustainability, and tighter cost controls in order to reduce the fiscal deficit. The program will help to stabilize power supply and prevent power outages caused by the large financial deficit of the sector. The program seeks to give a renewed and clear positive signal regarding the climate for foreign investment.
The funding also seeks to address the sector’s inefficiencies and help the environment by promoting the use of more efficient and less-polluting thermal generation technologies in place of back-up diesel generators.
The $150 million, fixed-spread loan is repayable in 17 years and includes five years of grace. This is the first loan of a program that consists of two policy-based loans and an investment loan for transmission and service expansion.
For more information about the project, see:
http://web.worldbank.org/external/projects/…