CDB Board Approves USD54.1 million Loan for Coastal Highway Improvement Project in Jamaica The Board of Directors of the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has approved a USD54.1 million loan to the government of Jamaica to assist in financing that country's Northern Coastal Highway Improvement Project. Approval for the financing was given at a meeting of the Board at CDB Headquarters in Barbados, on Thursday, October 13, 2005, under the chairmanship of President, Dr. Compton Bourne.This project involves the Construction or reConstruction of approximately 27.4 kilometres of highway between Montego Bay and Falmouth on Jamaica's north coast. It's expected to help improve the efficiency of road transport along the north coast by improving geometric design, capacity and safety standards of that section of the highway. In turn, this should reduce vehicle operating costs, travel time and the number of traffic accidents on the highway. Montego Bay, which is the capital of the parish of St. James, is Jamaica's second-largest city and there's a high concentration of hotels and other Tourism facilities in the area. This intervention is also expected to induce and support private direct investment in hotel development and other Tourism-related services that will generate new employment and foreign exchange earnings, and contribute to further rural development. USD5.550 million Loan for Road Improvement and Maintenance Project in Dominica The Board noted the approval by round robin of a USD5.550 million loan to the Government of Dominica for a Road Improvement and Maintenance Project. Under the project, approximately 12.46 kilometres of roads serving the Roseau Valley will be rehabilitated, and guard rails, traffic signs and roadside drains built or strengthened. In addition, an access road linking Wotten Waven and Trafalgar will be upgraded by strengthening the main bridge structure and its approaches. There will also be an institutional strengthening component including the provision of two weighbridges. The project is intended to decrease vehicle operating costs and to contribute to improved road safety for people who use the roads servicing the Roseau Valley. Other significant benefits include improved time savings for road users and expected new Tourism-generated business opportunities, created by improved access to tourist sites in the Roseau Valley. Technical Assistance Financing to Re-introduce Project Management Training for CDB's Borrowing Member Countries CDB's Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) are to benefit from training in project cycle management provided by the Bank once again. CDB is to re-introduce this training after a break of just over ten years to enhance the capacity and skills of approximately 300 participants a year for the next three years.The Board approved the use of up to the equivalent of USD3.149 million for this purpose. The funds are to be used to finance the services of consultants to design, prepare and implement the training programme. Participants will be drawn from the public and private sectors. A portion of the funds approved will be used to part-finance the expenses of public sector participants and other costs related to the programme. It's intended that individual government will share the costs for public sector employees while private sector participants will be funded by their organisations. CDB to Evaluate its Technical Assistance ProgrammeCDB will be engaging consultancy services to evaluate the Bank's Technical Assistance programme to its BMCs over the period 2000-2004. The Board approved the use of up to USD190,800 for this purpose.The Bank's Technical Assistance activities are designed to help BMCs accelerate their economic development through planning, programme development and implementation, and through institutional support, both at the level of individual projects and in national economic management.The overall objective of the consultancy is to assess the development effectiveness of CDB's Technical Assistance programme in the context of the Bank's increased emphasis on poverty reduction, with a view to obtaining lessons of experience and recommendations for improvement of the programme. President Notifies Board of Directors of Prior Financing ApprovalsCDB's Board of Directors has delegated the authority to the President to approve financing up to a specified limit. As a condition of this authority, the President is required to report such approvals at the first conveniently scheduled meeting of the Board following such approvals. Dr. Bourne asked the Board to note his prior approval of the following financing:An immediate response loan of up to the equivalent of USD500,000 to the Government of Grenada under CDB's Natural Disaster Management Strategy and Operational Guidelines, to assist with financing certain critical works in the wake of Hurricane Emily. The post-hurricane assistance to Grenada also included the use of up to USD20,000 to finance consultancy services to provide independent inspection and certification of the works to be undertaken.The use of funds equivalent to USD150,000 to assist in financing the costs of a symposium for key stakeholders on the "Financing of Tertiary Education". This symposium is to be held in Barbados from November 21 to 22, 2005, and is to be partially funded by CDB, in collaboration with the University of the West Indies (UWI), for the benefit of the Bank's BMCs. The use of funds up to the equivalent of USD40,000 to finance the costs of research on the subject "Costs and Financing of Tertiary Education in the Anglophone Caribbean". The research findings are to be presented at the symposium on "Financing of Tertiary Education". A grant up to the equivalent of USD31,000 to the Government of Dominica to help finance consultancy services to assess the social impact of the introduction of a Value-Added Tax in Dominica. The consultants would also be required to recommend appropriate policy options to provide relief to potentially vulnerable groups.The use of funds up to the equivalent of USD13,305 to assist with the organisation and delivery of a one-week strategic planning workshop to be held in Barbados nextmonth. Representatives of seven national development foundations in the Eastern Caribbean are expected to participate in the workshop.A grant to the University of the West Indies equivalent to USD10,200 to assist in financing the costs of a conference for human service professionals. Theconference entitled "Advancing Social Work Praxis in an Era of Global Transformation" was held in Jamaica from August 8-11 this year.