(Ecofin Agency) - Tanzania will benefit from $300 million in funding from South Korea to finance several development projects, Xinhua reported citing official sources.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 in Dar es Salaam between the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Doto James, and Cho Tae-Ick, South Korea's ambassador to Tanzania.

The new financing will be provided through the South Korean Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), an agency managed by the South Korean Export-Import Bank, which handles bilateral loans granted by South Korea.

Granted in the form of concessional loans, the new funds will enable the implementation of four development projects. These include the construction of two substations for the Kigoma-Nyakanazi power transmission line, and the New Selander Bridge in Dar es Salaam, the improvement of the national land data infrastructure, and sanitation services in the capital Dodoma.

The Tanzanian authorities hope that this financing will also help reduce the budget deficit caused by the coronavirus pandemic that has slowed economic activity in several countries on the continent.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou