Announcement of Uganda to Undertake Posts and Telecommunications Project with Support of IDA Credit on May 19, 1983

. . FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE eWorldBank 1818 H Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20433, U.S.A.• Telephone: (202) 477-1234 IDA NEWS RELEASE NO. 83/83 Contact: Pushpa Schwartz ?-lay 19, 1983 (202) 477-3294 UGANDA TO UNDERTAKE POSTS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECT WITH SUPPORT OF IDA CREDIT A credit of SDR 20.4 million ($22 million) from the International Development Association (IDA) to the Republic of Uganda will be provided for a country-wide posts and telecommunications project. The· credit from the World Bank's affiliate for concessionary lending will finance part of the Uganda Posts and Telecommunications Corporation's (UPTC) 1982-87 rehabilitation and development program of $115 million. The $26 million project will aim at urgently rehabilitating or replacing telecommunications plant which have deteriorated for lack of spare parts or were damaged in the 1978/79 war. At present, barely 7% of Uganda's population live in towns where there is telephone service. Two 1,000-line automatic telephone exchanges will be installed at Masaka and Mbarara, and • those existing in Jinja, Entebbe, Mengo, Fort Portal, Kakira, and Lugazi will be repaired and extended. In addition, equipment will be provided to extend telephone services to about 200 rural communities. Improving the standard of postal services in the country will also be addressed. The project aims at achieving next day delivery of letters in all head post offices and similar improvements between other post offices. The IDA credit will also finance two years' worth of imported spare parts and materials for telecommunicati9ns and· postal operations and maintenance, as well as for existing and new vehicles. Materials to complete the training center building of UPTC will be provided. UPTC will also be supplied with the services of a firm of accounting and financial consultants, project implementation experts, training and instructors,and experts to prepare future projects. UPTC will contribute $4 million toward project costs. The IDA credit is for 50 years, including 10 years of grace; it carries no interest but has a small annual service charge (0.5% on the undisbursed balances of the credit and and 0.75% on the disbursed balances). NOTE: IDA credits are denominated in SDRs (Special Drawing Rights), which are valued on the basis of a "basket" of currencies. The U.S. dollar equivalent of the SDR amount of the IDA credit • reflects the exchange rates existing at the time of the negotia- tion of the credit.