Colombia Gets World Bank Facilities

Colombia will receive $654m in three financing operations from the World Bank. The first operation is a $300m loan to stabilize the national budget and reduce the fiscal deficit to 3.2% of GDP by 2013, and has a 30-year term and a 5-year grace period. The second loan is for $350m to improve public transportation systems, and has a 15-year term and a 14.5-year grace period. The remaining $4m is a grant from the Global Environmental Facility to support programs that protect Colombia’s biodiversity.