RIYADH, March 1 (NNN-KUNA) — The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) has said that the International Donors Conference for the Development and Reconstruction of Darfur, due in Cairo on March 21, will raise some USD 2 billion for projects in the war-ravaged region.

Speaking to reporters at the headquarters of the organisation’s secretariat in Jeddah, southwest Saudi Arabia, Sunday, OIC Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Ambassador Atta Al-Mannan Bakhit said the organising committee of the conference has developed a comprehensive plan for financing projects in Darfur including a follow-up mechanism.

The conference will discuss the grants and soft loans that could be channelled to development projects in Darfur in consultation with the Sudanese government, he pointed out.

Experts from the OIC and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) have jointly worked out the feasibility studies of the planned projects. The follow-up mechanism on the projects will be developed in coordination with the Sudanese government, pursuant to the agreement signed by the OIC and the government in Khartoum, capital of Sudan, in January, Bakhit said.

The projects to be implemented in Darfur’s three states namely; North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur will focus on restoring the region’s past as an agricultural productive region.

They range from basic domains of water, land rehabilitation, irrigation and livestock to the industrial ones such as cement production, road building, manufacturing, housing, urban planning, healthcare and education, he noted.

– NNN-KUNA

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