Announcement of Forty Million to the Agricultural Development Bank of Iran (ADBI) on August 15, 1974

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR • RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 1818 H STREET, N.W., WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 Bank Press Release No. 74/73 Subject: $40 million to the Agricultural August 15, 1974 Development Bank of Iran (ADBI) The World Bank has approved a loan of $40 million to the Agricultural Development Bank of Iran (ADBI) to help finance lending for conunercial agriculture. The project is essentially for extending activities under two previous World Bank loans. It will support a two-year lending program for investments in COIIDllercial agriculture, as well as agribusiness and agro-industry, but 1n addition place emphasis on developing the smaller-scale commercial agriculture • under a joint ADBI-Bank Melli scheme. About $7.2 million of the loan would benefit small, commercially viable projects. Under ADBI's expansion program, there will be significant increases in the production of milk, milk products, meat, poultry, fruit crops, cereals and cotton. The total cost of the project is about $100 million, of which the present loan will cover 40% -- almost the entire foreign exchange component. Among th~ indirect benefits are the technical assistance and institution building aspects of the loan, which will enable ADBI to continue to consolidate and streamline operating plans, step up its staff training, strengthen the credit mechanism and increase project planning capacity. This is the third Bank loan to ADBI. It is for a term of 1~ years, including~ years of grace, with interest at 8% per annum. It will be guaranteed by the Governm~nt of Iran • • Note: Money figures are expressed in US dollar equivalents. - 0 -