TANZANIA is among 15 countries selected by the World Bank to benefit from the global carbon trade funds where the bank will extend credit for strengthening the forestry sector.

Victoria Kwakwa, the World Bank vice president for the Eastern and Southern Africa Region, affirmed this over the weekend in talks with Dr Mwigulu Nchemba, the Finance minister, on the side lines of the spring meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

She said that the funds obtained through carbon trading can help in various development projects, meanwhile as the World Bank works to help Tanzania achieve its development goals.

It expects to direct funds and expertise to agriculture, energy, the digital economy, environmental protection, water, education and the transportation infrastructure, she said.

The lender will participate in providing funds for the construction of the regional aspect of the standard gauge railway (SGR) as it extends to Burundi and the DRC, she stated.

The minister expressed appreciation for the World Bank in having approved 14 development projects valued at $3.87bn, through the International Development Association during IDA-20 replenishment, now drawing to a close.

The funding was directed to education, health, environmental protection, infrastructure, energy and the Digital Tanzania project, he said, where a World Bank write up says IDA lends money on concessional terms on the basis of zero or very low interest charge.

Repayments are stretched over 30 to 40 years, with more than half of IDA countries receiving all, or half, of their IDA resources on grant terms, which carry no repayments at all, it says., elaborating that “IDA grants and low-interest loans help countries invest in their futures, improve lives, and create safer, more prosperous communities around the world.”

The minister said that the 14 projects are among 25 strategic projects priced at $5bn which the government submitted to the bank for funding, tied with goals set in the National Development Vision 2025.

The first phase of disbursement amounting to $500m out of approved $750m has been provided up to December 2023, directed at budgetary support to deal with the effects of Covid-19 and global supply disruptions due to conflict in Eastern Europe, he said.

So far, the World Bank has disbursed $5.5bn (12.6trn/-) for 26 projects, of which 21 hold the value of $4.8bbn and are national projects, while five projects billed at $0.69bn are regional in character, he added.