RIYADH: Top officials of Saudi Arabia and Senegal reviewed various development projects and programs funded by the Saudi Fund for Development as the African country aims to improve its social infrastructure.
Senegal’s Minister of Infrastructure and Land Transport Mansour Fay called on SFD CEO Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Murshed at the fund’s headquarters in Riyadh to review the progress of work and the challenges associated with their implementation and the development of sustainable solutions for them, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
This comes as the Kingdom is keen on pursuing development efforts in the African country through financing projects and programs that contribute to the growth of the social and economic life of the Senegalese people to achieve sustainable development in the near future.
In addition to this, Fay was briefed on the Fund's development efforts through an introductory photo exhibition tour inside the headquarters. The Fund highlighted the most prominent development projects it finances in developing countries, and their developmental impact on the beneficiaries.
The majority of the development projects and programs financed by the SFD fall in the social infrastructure sector in specific.
Last December, on behalf of SFD, a rehabilitation project of the Tambacounda-Guederi road in Senegal was inaugurated by Senegalese President Macky Sall.
The project, financed by the SFD through a soft loan of approximately $30 million, aims to rehabilitate a critical 80 km road. It will also improve roadside services, including first aid and emergency care units for individuals who have sustained injuries from road traffic accidents as well as water wells to serve travelers and residents in and around the area.
Besides providing people and communities with increased access to vital and basic services, the development of the Tambacounda-Guederi road will improve road safety and reduce road accident fatalities.
Given the road’s location, it will play a significant role in transforming the national economy and strengthening the infrastructure of the country’s transport sector.
Since 1978, the SFD has funded as many as 26 projects and development programs with a total value of an estimated $447 million in Senegal. The Saudi government also provided four huge grants through the Fund with a value exceeding $19 million to contribute to the growth and prosperity of the infrastructure sectors in Senegal.
