Above: Suriname

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The Inter-American Development Bank has approved a pair of loans totaling $40 million to boost the electricity sector in Suriname.

The loans, which were approved under the IDB’s Flexible Financing Facility, both have 20-year terms.

The first loan, which totals $30 million, will help bring 24-hour electricity access to certain locations in the country’s Hinterland, the IDB said, along with reducing the use of fossil fuels.

Additionally, the IDB said, the loan will upgrade “critical infrastructure and information systems of Energiebedrijven Suriname’s (EBS) power operator, as well as finance works to expand the electricity grid and renewable energy production.”

The second, $10 million loan looks to “increase the efficiency, transparency, sustainability, and accountability of the power sector.”