The World Bank Board of Directors is said to have approved a 20 million US-dollar credit to support Grenada’s transition to a resilient blue economy.
As enshrined in an article in the OECS Media Centre, the Second Fiscal Resilience and Blue Growth Development Policy Credit fosters reforms to support fiscal sustainability, strengthen marine and coastal management, and build climate resilience.
This operation, the second in a programmatic series of two IDA credits, is said to deepen support for Grenada’s policy and institutional measures to maintain fiscal discipline and diversify the economy towards a blue growth model.
This is said to be based on sustainable and well-governed use of ocean resources.
It includes fiscal reform measures such as building fiscal buffers, improving public expenditure management, instituting customs and excise reforms, and improving transparency of public enterprises.
The World Bank Director for the Caribbean, Tahseen Sayed, says “Fiscal sustainability and strengthening environmental management are critical for building cross-cutting resilience in Grenada.
She went further to say that “Protecting and preserving the rich marine and ocean resources is essential for the country’s successful transition to a blue economy and for boosting coastal tourism, which contributes 24 percent to the country’s GDP.
The 20 million US-dollar operation is financed by the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional financing arm of the World Bank.
The credit has a maturity of 40 years, and a grace period of 10.
