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NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – The World Bank announced on Sunday that it would provide a billion-dollar reserve loan to the Indonesian government for relief and reconstruction efforts in the two islands of the country struck. by earthquakes and a tsunami.
PHOTO FILE: Rescuers remove a body from the rubble of a destroyed mosque in the Balaroa district, hit by the earthquake and liquefaction in Palu, central Sulawesi, Indonesia, on October 9, 2018. REUTERS / Jorge Silva
The multilateral lender said the fund would also provide a $ 5 million grant for technical assistance to ensure robust reconstruction and community support, he said in a statement.
World Bank Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva visited Palu City on Friday, which was shaken by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake and tsunami on 28 September. More than 2,000 people died in Palu and surrounding areas.
In the seaside island of Lombok, more than 500 people were killed by a series of earthquakes in July and August.
Indonesia hosts the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Bali, just west of Lombok.
The World Bank said in its preliminary report that the physical losses caused by damage to infrastructure, residential and non-residential properties in Sulawesi amounted to about $ 531 million. He noted that the report did not take into account loss of life, land lost or the disruption of the economy caused by the loss of jobs, livelihoods and commercial activities. .
The loan facility could include cash transfers to the 150,000 poorest families affected for a period of 6 months to a year, which could help during the recovery phase, said the bank.
The Indonesian government plans to launch a new disaster recovery financing strategy, which could include state asset insurance and the sale of "catastrophe bonds," said the head of the Indonesian tax bureau, Suahasil Nazara, earlier this month.
Report of Gayatri Suroyo; Edited by Shri Navaratnam
