An agreement was signed Sunday under which the Kuwait-based Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) extended a soft loan of 70 million dollars to Jordan for financing an extension of the Samra power plant, an official statement said, according to DPA. The accord was signed by Jordanian Finance Minister Ziyad Fariz and AFESD Director General Abdullatif al-Hamad. The loan will be used for expanding the capacity of the Samra power plant, about 40 kilometres North of Amman, to 500 Megawatt from 300 Megawatt, with a view to meeting Jordan's growing energy needs, the Planning and International Cooperation Minister Suhair al-Ali said. The agreement raised to 38 the number of development projects that have been so far financed by AFESD through concessionary loans totalling 387 million Kuwaiti Dinars (1.4 billion dollars", the statement said.
