The ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) has granted a $50-million facility to the Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG) to support Ghana’s road infrastructure development.
Dr George Agyekum Donkor, the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of EBID, and the Managing Director of CBG, Mr Daniel Wilson ADDO, signed the deal in Accra, on behalf of their respective institutions.
A statement from CBG copied to the Ghana News Agency said the granting of the line of credit embodies EBID’s development commitments in the ECOWAS member states to address the huge infrastructure deficit within the sub-region.
It was also in alignment with Ghana’s developmental agenda to boost socio-economic growth with the improvement of road infrastructure as a key driver.
The line of credit to CBG would provide an impetus to bolster the government’s development initiatives.
As of date, the statement said EBID had invested over US$2.8billion to promote the development of various sectors in the ECOWAS community in the areas of health, agriculture, energy, hospitality, trade, telecommunications, manufacturing, and infrastructure, among others.
CBG, with a balance sheet size of GHS10 billion and 114 branches across 13 regions of Ghana, is one of the largest banks in Ghana, it added.
The Bank had rapidly established a reputation for excellence in banking and particularly in providing lending and digital solutions to SMEs and it was also actively leveraging on its balance sheet to facilitate the government’s post COVID recovery agenda, the statement said.
It explained that the facility from EBID would be used to augment its financing scheme to private construction companies in the execution of key road projects within the country.
Throughout the six-year tenor of the facility, EBID and CBG would undertake projects to ensure that road infrastructure projects to be financed, complied with the provisions of the national and international institutional framework on sustainable development and environmental protection.
The EBID is a leading regional investment and development bank, owned by the 15 ECOWAS member states, namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo.
Based in Lomé, Togolese Republic, the Bank is committed to financing developmental projects and programmes covering diverse initiatives from infrastructure and basic amenities, rural development and environment, industry, and social services sectors, through its private and public sector windows.
The statement said EBID intervened through a long, medium, and short-term loans, equity participation, lines of credit, refinancing, financial engineering operations and related services.
CBG is a wholly government-owned bank licensed under Section 127 (10) and (11) of the Banks and Specialised Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016 (Act 930).
Under strong corporate governance, CBG has entrenched its name and brand as one of the largest and leading banks in Ghana, reporting profits yearly.
With a strong financial standing, technology-led and innovative banking solutions and delivering on superior customer services in 114 branches across 13 regions of Ghana, CBG prides itself on being the pacesetter in the changing face of banking in Africa.
Its vision is to be the most trusted bank in Ghana with the mission of being the preferred Ghanaian bank providing a simple, secure and differentiated banking experience to customers.