Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Professor Biman Prasad today signed the Loan and Grant Agreement with the ADB towards the Fiji - Critical Bridges Resilience Project amounting to USD $134.5 million of which USD $120 million as concessional loan financing and USD $14.5 million as grant financing.
Prof. Prasad says he would like to thank the ADB for the ongoing support and as major financier for the Project with the World Bank Group as co-financier.
He says the Fiji Roads Authority has identified a total of four bridges in critical need of replacement and with detailed engineering designs ready.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the replacement of these bridges is proposed to be co-financed by the ADB, the World Bank Group and the Fiji Government.
He says the list of bridges that will require replacements on Viti Levu includes Lami bridge at Suvavou, Medraukutu bridge at the Lami Cement Factory, Sabeto Bridge at the Sabeto River and Viseisei Bridge between Nadi and Lautoka.
Prof. Prasad says the Project has been under preparation by the Government since 2020 with support of ADB and the World Bank.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the objective of the Project is to improve transport domestic connectivity in Fiji with climate and disaster resilient infrastructure.
He says the Project comprises replacement of critical bridges with new resilient bridges; enhancement of the capacity of FRA, by among others, identification and preparation of climate solutions, by among others, preparing an upstream, sector wide, multi hazard social and gender vulnerability assessment and investment roadmap with climate adaptation considerations, and the implementation of a gender policy and action plan for FRA.
Prof. Prasad thanked the ADB and its Board of Directors for approving the reclassification of Fiji as a Group B country under its graduation policy with effective from 1 January 2022, which allowed Fiji to borrow at concessional terms, eligible for technical assistance grants, regular loans and various trust funds.
He says in September 2023, the ADB Board further endorsed the soft lending terms to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), which includes Fiji and aligning to the World Bank's IDA terms.
The Deputy Prime Minister says this will be immensely helpful in financing climate-resilient projects and supporting efforts to reduce Fiji’s debt burden at a time when we need to build fiscal space.
He says the loan and grant financing under this Project is the first ever infrastructure sector financing on very concessional terms that Government will receive from the ADB.
Prof. Prasad says the ADB financing facility entail concessional terms and conditions and the repayment terms from the ADB facility match to the IDA maturity terms which includes a 40-year term with a 10-year grace period at an interest rate of 1.0 percent.
He says in total, the Fiji Government over the years has received around US$ 805.0 million in loan financing from the ADB aside from grants and other technical assistance.
The Deputy Prime Minister says the formalisation of this Agreement will further strengthen the Fijian Government’s relationship with the ADB and signal our continued cooperation and support.
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