Italy to assess US$24mn Misicuni loan

The Italian government will send a mission to Bolivia in February to evaluate a 20mn euro (US$24mn) loan to help complete the Misicuni water and irrigation project in central Bolivia, according to Bolivia's state news agency ABI. The project will supply potable water to the city of Cochabamba and other localities, and benefit some 850,000 inhabitants. The Italian credit would have a 40-year term at a base rate of interest according to the agency. The Italian government authorized a US$20mn loan for the second phase of the project in November. The Misicuni project includes a dam and a tunnel to draw water from the Misicuni reservoir to the Cochabamba valley. It will provide some 2.2 cu. m/s of water to Cochabamba city by end-2006 and will eventually yield 6.6 cu. m/s of drinking and irrigation water. The government has also approached the Andean Development Corporation to continue supplying credit to complete the project.