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Guatemala to Get $250 Million in IDB Loans for Climate Projects
2010-11-03 12:37:54.248 GMT
By Stephan Nielsen
Nov. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Guatemala will get $250 million in
loans from the Inter-American Development Bank to help implement
policies to curtail carbon emissions, the lender said.
The money, to be divided into one tranche of $100 million
and three of $50 million, will be disbursed over 18 months, the
Washington-based IDB said in a statement Nov. 2. The bank is the
biggest infrastructure lender in Latin America and the
Caribbean.
The money will help Guatemala establish climate-change
units in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Environment and
Natural Resources and roll out an energy-efficiency pilot
project, according to the statement. The country will also help
create a national policy that will address risks arising from
natural disasters and climate change, the IDB said.
Guatemala is one of the world's 10 most vulnerable
countries to climate change and the fourth most vulnerable to
natural disasters, the IDB said citing information from the
United Nations.
The financing consists of a $213.2 million loan for 20
years with a variable interest rate based on the London
interbank offered rate, the amount banks charge to lend to each
other; a $29.4 million fixed-rate loan for 30 years; and a $7.4
million concessional loan for 40 years with a 0.25 percent
annual interest rate, the IDB said.
For Related News and Information:
Guatemala and climate change: TNI GUATEMALA CLIMATE <GO>
Renewable-energy special report: GREEN <GO>
Top energy stories: TOP NRG <GO>
--Editors: Romaine Bostick, Cecile Daurat.
To contact the reporter for this story:
Stephan Nielsen in Sao Paulo at +55 11 3017 4932 or
snielsen8@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Reed Landberg at +44-20-7330-7862 or
landberg@bloomberg.net.
