IDB loan supports regulatory reform in Barbados
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will provide an $80 million loan to Barbados to modernise the Caribbean island nation’s regulatory framework and strengthen its public policies oriented towards sustainable development and climate resilience.
The program, the first in a series of policy-based loans, provides budget support tied to the strengthening and consolidation of public policies focused on improving territorial planning efficiency and sustainability, the IDB said in a statement.
The program’s comprehensive approach includes modernising policies for managing water resources, natural assets, and disaster risk and resilience.
The country’s legislation governing physical planning and development is being modernised. In particular, It will focus on the modernization of integrated coastal zone management policies, and include the recent update of Barbados’ returnable containers legislation to promote recycling of a broader set of packaging materials and to reduce pollution of land and coastal resources, the IDB said.
The project will also support reforms needed to strengthen disaster risk resilience and management. Among other activities, the operation will help adopt a cross-cutting and multiyear approach at each phase of the disaster risk management cycle and will mainstream the use of the newly developed National Coastal Risk Information and Planning Platform (NCRIPP). All these steps are in line with the government’s new Roofs to Reefs Program.
The $80 million loan is for a 20-year term, with a five-and-a-half-year grace period and a LIBOR-based interest rate.
