In December 1997, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) approved a loan in the amount of US$10.64 million (mn) to the Government of Antigua and Barbuda (GOAB) to assist in financing the Basic Education Project (BEP); and a grant to GOAB of US$92,000 for consulting services to assist in the implementation of the project. GOAB and the Board of Education (BOE) provided counterpart funding of $0.82mn and $3.12mn respectively to meet the remaining project costs. The total investment cost of the project was $14.67mn.