Bolivia to receive int'l financing to battle drought

Bolivia's government, which is battling the worst drought in at least 30 years, approved international loans totaling US$192mn for potable water and irrigation projects, a senior official said.

President Evo Morales' cabinet issued two decrees authorizing loans including US$131mn from Caracas-based multilateral lender Corporación Andina de Fomento (CAF) and US$61mn from the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), development planning minister René Orellana said.

The loans are "to finance the construction of small and medium-sized dams, important for providing potable water and irrigation in the rural area," Orellana told reporters in La Paz in broadcast comments. "It's a significant amount that will allow us to invest in small communities to build and protect water sources that could be at risk."

One of the CAF loans, a US$70mn credit similar to a US$70mn loan extended last year, will provide aid small-scale farmers who have been hit by the drought, Orellana said.

Morales in November declared a national emergency and sacked state water officials for failing to warn the government about the lack of water supply in La Paz, a highland city of 800,000 inhabitants. State water utility Epsas is restricting water services in the Andean nation's capital.

The government has installed 84 potable water tanks in 69 schools in La Paz to help them cope with water rationing, according to state news agency ABI. The schools are receiving up to 1.mn liters/d of water, the agency said.

The Andean region is facing the effects of the La Niña phenomenon, where cooler ocean temperatures cause drought in the highlands, affecting crops and livestock.

While Morales has pledged US$48.6bn in infrastructure and energy investments over the next five years, his government is struggling to line up financing as economic growth slows. Bolivia, which depends on natural gas for the bulk of its export revenue, saw exports drop 20% to US$6.652bn through November 2016.