JOHANNESBURG, July 31 (Xinhua) -- The New Development Bank (NDB) is satisfied with its engagement with various stakeholders during the BRICS summit including the additional approval of some funding which was announced this month, the bank said on Tuesday.
The bank revealed that on July 20, the NDB board of directors approved two projects, one for South Africa and one for China. They also hosted with the BRICS Business Council a business breakfast in Durban to discuss investment opportunities and perspectives for strengthening mutual cooperation.
During the 10th BRICS Summit held on July 25-27, NDB president Kundapur Vaman Kamath updated the BRICS leaders about how far they have gone in approving the projects. Kamath also signed an agreement on the hosting of the NDB Americas regional office in Brazil.
"The NDB has approved 23 projects for about 5.7 U.S billion dollars in our member countries. Almost all of our lending supports sustainable infrastructure and development," said Kamath.
He stated that the projects cover renewable energy sectors, rural roads, ecosystem restoration, water supply particularly in rural areas, irrigation system restructuring and energy conservation.
He also said "we are geared to fund conventional infrastructure as well as to harness transformative technologies in the service of development. Besides the traditional set of lending products, we will also begin offering non-fund based financial products such as guarantees and credit enhancements. We will work at speed, scale, and make a positive difference, quickly and effectively."
Kamath added, "By the end of this year, we expect the total approvals to reach about 7.5 billion U.S. dollars."
NDB, formerly referred to as the BRICS Development Bank, is a multilateral development bank established by the BRICS states in 2014.
The bank reaffirmed its determination to expand its role as an innovative and reliable development partner to all BRICS countries in the year ahead, increasing its support for all member nations to achieve their development agendas. Enditem
