IDB Vice President Mansur Mukhtar

Ankara (IINA) : Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Mansur Mukhtar said Tuesday that the IDB has planned more than $1.5 billion worth of financial support for new investment projects (2017-2019) for African countries.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency, Mukhtar said that the Bank aims to continue its support in creating greater and more modernized energy access in the Sub-Saharan Africa region, out of which a significant share of over 1.1 billion people globally have poor access to electricity.

“Access to modern energy services is even worse since around 2.9 billion people have to use traditional biomass fuel for cooking, causing health and environmental problems,” the IDB vice president said.

“In line with this, issues such as inclusive energy collaboration, improving access to energy for all, improving coordination, investment and capacity building with a special focus on Sub-Saharan Africa, supporting energy investments in clean energy technologies and renewable energy as well as improving energy efficiency have been identified as the main areas for action,” he added.

Mukhtar said that the IDB took measures to solve energy poverty in the region and created $1.4 billion in financing between 2012 and 2016 for 25 new projects.

“The measures implemented include the construction of new power generation facilities, the improvement of electricity distribution and transmission infrastructure, investment climate development, acceleration of industrialization, achievement of higher productivity, and the increase of learning opportunities through better lighting,” he said.

He explained that the bank’s energy policy is anchored on four main pillars, namely: maximizing access to modern energy; increasing access to renewable energy; enhancing energy efficiency; and improving knowledge services.

The IDB, together with similar international financial institutions and sister organizations, aims to support the improvement of the investment climate to facilitate the greater influx of private investments, Mukhtar said.