Kuwait on Wednesday signed a 46. 7 million-U.S.-dollar loan agreement with Ethiopia to finance two development projects, one of which is to upgrade the Addis Ababa Bole International Airport.

Under the agreement, the other project is to extend the national power grid to the northeastern Afar region.

The airport project has already been financed by a previous loan secured from Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development in 1996.

Kuwait initially granted 25 million dollars and is now supplementing the increased costs of the same project with an additional 10 million dollars.

The fund will assist in the development and upgrading of the Addis Ababa airport, thereby boosting its capacity to meet aircraft and passenger traffic demands until 2020.

Some 36.7 million dollars of this latest loan is expected to go to the Ethiopian Electric Power Corporation for a project, aiming to supply electric power to 24 towns and villages in the Afar region.

Another three towns in Tigray, Oromia and Amhara regional states will also be beneficiaries of the extension project, which is expected to be finalized in four years' time.

The term of loan for the power project is 22 years and has a grace period of five years.

In Ethiopia, only 13 percent of the population has access to electricity but that would rise to 20 percent by 2012.

The Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development was established in 1961. Its objectives are to provide financial aid and to developing countries in the form of loans. In addition, the fund is involved in technical assistance by offering training and technical expertise.

Source: Xinhua