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Affirming its commitment to the global fraternity, the Saudi Fund for Development has laid the foundation stone to kick off the construction of the Mangoky Bridge in Madagascar, an island country lying off the southeastern coast of Africa.

The SFD has contributed $20 million as a soft loan to the project, alongside contributions from institutions and development funds in the Arab Coordination Group and the government of Madagascar, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The Mangoky Bridge will connect the Atsimo-Andrefana and Menabe regions, home to Madagascar’s most vital agricultural and tourism assets.

The bridge is also expected to reduce the travel time between these two regions, thus helping local farmers to get their products to the market much more quickly.

Mohammed Al-Shammari, the SFD’s director general for Africa operations, laid the foundation stone in the presence of Andry Rajoelina, president of Madagascar.

Several high-level officials, including Christian Ntsay, prime minister of Madagascar, were also present during the event.

During his speech at the event, Rajoelina thanked the fund for contributing to constructing the 878-meter bridge and other development projects in his country.

The fund has been contributing to developmental projects across the globe since its inception in 1974.

The SPA report also noted that the fund had provided six loans to finance six development projects in Madagascar worth $69 million.

In January, the fund signed a deal with Pakistan’s Economic Affairs Ministry to finance oil derivatives amounting to $1 billion.

Saudi Arabia’s helping hand to Pakistan came when the Asian nation was battling a tough economic crisis amid dwindling forex reserves and a rapidly depreciating national currency.

In the same month, the fund also forayed into Caribbean countries by signing an $80 million financing agreement for the University of the West Indies expansion project at Five Islands in Antigua and Barbuda.

The financing deal aimed to reach sustainable development goals in the Caribbean, promote scientific innovation and add additional educational facilities to the university.

Source:https://www.arabnews.com/node/2358176/business-economy

The annual inflation rate in the Sultanate of Oman reached 0.69 percent at the end of June 2023, according to the monthly consumer price survey data issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The inflation rate was driven by the increase in most of the main groups that make up the consumer price index. The prices of the food and non-alcoholic beverages group rose by 2.18 percent, due to the increase in the prices of most of the group’s components, led by milk, cheese and eggs by 9.78 percent, fish and seafood by 5.19 percent, oils and fats by 4. 81 percent, fruits by 4.3 percent, other foodstuffs by 3.91 percent, bread and cereals by 2.34 percent, and non-alcoholic beverages by 0.67 percent. Meat prices decreased by 0.12 percent and vegetables by 5.65 percent.

The prices of restaurants and hotels groups increased by 3.68 percent, furniture, fixtures and household equipment, and routine home maintenance work by 2.93 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 2.33 percent, tobacco by 2.11 percent, culture and entertainment by 1.73 percent, health by 1.28 percent, and clothes and shoes by 0. 56 percent, and education by 0.05 percent, and the housing, water, electricity, gas, and other types of fuel group, which rose by 0.02 percent. The prices of the transportation group decreased by 1.74 percent, and communications by 0.22 percent.

The inflation rate increased by 0.23 percent compared to the previous month as a result of the increase in food and non-alcoholic beverages groups by 0.97 percent, led by tobacco by 0.35 percent, culture and entertainment by 0.28 percent, miscellaneous goods and services by 0.23 percent, and furniture, household equipment and household maintenance by 0.03. percent, compared to a decrease in the prices of transport groups by 0.1 percent, communications by 0.05 percent, restaurants and hotels by 0.04 percent, and the stability of prices for housing, water, electricity, gas, and other types of fuel, clothing, shoes, health, and education.

Al Buraimi Governorate recorded the highest inflation rate among the governorates at 1.3 percent, compared to the lowest inflation rate in the North Al Sharqiyah and South Al Sharqiyah Governorates at 0.2 percent. Muscat Governorate recorded an increase in inflation by 1 percent, while Al Dakhiliyah Governorate recorded 0.7 percent, Dhofar Governorate 0.7 percent, Al Dhahirah Governorate 0.6 percent, and North Governorate. Al Batinah 0.4 percent.

Source:https://timesofoman.com/article/134420-omans-annual-inflation-rate-reaches-069

The total domestic production of natural gas amounted to 26.19 billion cubic metres until the end of June 2023, an increase of 2.3 percent compared to the same period in 2022, when the total amounted to 25.60 billion cubic metres.

Statistics issued by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI) showed that industrial projects accounted for 58.7 percent of the natural gas uses in the Sultanate of Oman at 15.39 billion cubic metres until the end of June 2023.
The total use of natural gas for oil fields amounted to 6.76 billion cubic meters, power plants at 3.89 billion cubic metres and industrial areas at 131.50 million cubic metres.

It is noteworthy that the non-associated production of natural gas, including imports, amounted to 20.89 billion cubic metres, while the associated production of natural gas amounted to 5.30 billion cubic metres.

Source:https://timesofoman.com/article/134421-omans-natural-gas-production-rises-23