Accra, Dec. 15, GNA - Ghana and the African Development Fund (ADF) have signed a loan agreement of 35.3 million dollars to finance Ghana's portion of the Bamako-Ougadougou-Accra-Tema corridor of the ECOWAS Community Infrastructure and Road Action Programme.

The road forms part of a Programme that links up Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger to Ghanaian ports.

A statement made available to the Ghana News Agency said Dr Anthony Akoto Osei, Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, signed for Ghana while Mr Olabisi Ogunjobi, Vice-President of the African Development Bank Group in-charge of West and Central Africa Operations and Micro-finance signed for the Fund. The ADF Board of Directors approved the agreement that was signed in Tunis on November 19.

The programme is part of the short-term plan of action on infrastructure improvement under the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD).

It would contribute to the strengthening of economic integration and co-operation within the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and improve the accessibility of land-locked countries to seaports. The estimated cost of the entire project is 262.6 million dollars.