BUENOS AIRES, Argentina – The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has approved a $150 million loan to improve the living conditions of households in Argentina’s vulnerable communities. The funds will help boost land tenure security for beneficiary families, improve basic infrastructure, and promote community development.
The project’s goal is to enhance the quality of life and foster urban and social inclusion of disadvantaged homes in these settlements.
The program, which has a special focus on people’s rights to land, will finance activities leading to the rehabilitation of assisted areas through legal procedures. It will also provide residents of those areas with legal instruments that confer ownership, and promote relocation away from high climate volatility areas.
In addition, the program will finance basic infrastructure works, such as the construction of drinking water, sewerage, natural gas, and electricity networks, as well as parks and green and recreational areas incorporating gender and diversity considerations.
The loan will benefit 50,000 households in 39 different settlements. The program’s main impact indicators will be a rise in the average value of property in the areas under intervention and a drop in the percentage of qualitative housing deficit. Other elements that will be taken into account include residents’ degree of satisfaction with community amenities and the percentage of higher vulnerability groups whose members feel safe in their areas of residence.
The program is in line with Vision 2025, the IDB Group’s roadmap to speed up Latin America and the Caribbean’s recovery and inclusive and sustainable growth, particularly because it seeks to promote social progress and cover all basic necessities, such as access to housing and quality public services, including water, sanitation, and electricity.
The US$150 million IDB loan is for a 25-year term, with a 5.5-year grace period and interest rate based on SOFR.