Sh1.73 Billion AFDB Loan to Fund Construction in Kenya, Region
Shelter Afrique has signed a Sh1.73 billion loan agreement with the African Development Bank (AfDB), one of its primary shareholders.
The loan is intended to boost the trade finance instruments to small and medium enterprises involved in real estate and construction related activities in the country and Africa at large.
The AfDB's four-year facility will allow Shelter Afrique to expand its Trade Finance Program launched in June 2011, under a product diversification strategy to address the acute financing shortage facing real estate developers on the continent.
Shelter Afrique Managing Director Alassane Ba said the facility will contribute to addressing the critical shortage of building materials while creating jobs and income in the region.
"With strong partnerships with organisations like AfDB, we know we are not too far from finding lasting solutions," Ba said.
Kenya to sped 120 mln USD to relocate oil terminal to cut fuel costs
Kenya's government said Saturday it has begun the process of relocating Mombasa-based Kipevu oil terminal to create additional capacity at a cost of $120 million.
Kenya Ports Authority chairman Danson Mungatana said the new terminal, expected to be completed in 2018 and will reduce fuel pump prices in the East African nation.
"Preliminary design of the new facility has been undertaken and the relocation agreed upon by all stakeholders. The detailed design will cost 1.7 million dollars while construction of the facility will cost about 120 million dollars," said Mungatana.
The KPA chairman who was speaking during the official launch of the Kenya Oil and Gas Association in Nairobi said the new terminal will have capacity for two large vessels each carrying 100,000 tons of crude oil.
Kenyan oil firms have previously cited the high cost of refined petroleum products to losses incurred as a result of refining at the Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) facility in Kipevu.
World Bank signs loan deal for Kenya airport construction
News that the World Bank has signed a major loan deal with the Kenya government worth 17.5 billion Kenya Shillings, all due to be channeled into the reconstruction and expansion of facilities at the region’s main airport, Jomo Kenyatta International, will be received with some relief by the aviation fraternity currently working under difficult conditions at the airport since the fire last year in August destroyed the entire arrivals section.
The World Bank’s country director yesterday confirmed that the deal was signed, which should allow the Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) to fast track tender awards now that funds have been made available.
No details about the grace period, the level of interest or the repayment period could be obtained but it is thought that the interest rates will be hugely preferential over any form of commercial borrowing or even project finance arranged by contractors.
Kenya Refineries petitions MPs over proposed $1.2bn upgrade
Kenya’s troubled oil refinery has petitioned parliament to sanction the upgrade of the facility ahead of the proposed exit of Indian conglomerate Essar from the Mombasa-based plant.
The Kenya Petroleum Refineries Ltd (KPRL) said an upgrade of the refinery — estimated to cost at least $1.2 billion — was more feasible than the planned building of a new refinery at Lamu.
In a proposal to the Public Investment Committee (PIC), KPRL said oil discovered in northwestern Kenya, expected to be produced in the next three to four years, can be processed with comparative low investment if upgrading is done.
The politics around the upgrade or closure of the refinery as well as the exit of Essar have set East Africa talking, with the region desperate to have a strategic refinery following oil finds in Kenya and Uganda.
