Barbados has received a US $50 million loan to bolster efforts to save the island’s coasts.
Barbados has 23.5 years to repay the latest loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), which will help boost the climate resilience of its coastal areas and foster climate-resilient economic development.
The IDB loan has a 23.5-year repayment term, a seven-year grace period and an interest rate based on the Secured Overnight Financing Rate, Loop News reports.
In a press release issued on January 11, 2024, by the IDB, the lending agency said the operation approved by the IDB’s Board of Executive Directors will reduce the risks of erosion and flooding along Barbados’ coasts and make coastal activities safer for communities and tourists.
Barbados has 60 miles of coastline, 20 of which are central to the country’s tourism industry, attracting over one million visitors annually and accounting for 13 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
