The World Bank Board of Directors today approved US$136.7 million in financing to support programs to improve housing and vulnerable neighborhoods in urban and rural areas of Colombia.
The funds will also support institutional strengthening for project implementation at the municipal and national levels.
"The World Bank financing enables the country to continue advancing its medium- and long-term initiatives to improve the quality of life of families and to reduce the qualitative deficit, said Jonathan Malagón González, minister of Housing, Cities and Territory. "Thanks to this agreement, over 236,000 households throughout the country will have dignified housing as well as adequate public spaces."
The project will support the two government housing programs, Casa Digna-Vida Digna and Semillero de Propietarios, which use a comprehensive intervention to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable families.
Through these programs, subsidies will be given for works to improve the quality and structure of housing in prioritized municipalities. Additionally, investments will be made in neighborhoods to improve their public infrastructure and community interaction spaces, including parks, trails, green areas and cultural, sports and family care centers. The project also includes rent subsidies for Venezuelan migrants, giving them greater opportunities for social integration and economic participation.
The project will focus on the most vulnerable families and communities without access to quality housing and will increase the climate-change resilience of those households. Indirect beneficiaries include workers who participate in home improvement and construction of public spaces, as well as residents of the selected municipalities.
"Through this project, we want lower-income Colombian families to have access to safer and better quality homes, as well as to improvements in their neighborhoods that promote decent and inclusive public spaces," said Ulrich Zachau, World Bank Director for Colombia and Venezuela. "We also believe that including migrant families in this project is a major step toward the economic and social integration of this population and demonstrates the solidarity and welcoming spirit of the Colombian people."
The program will receive a US$100 million loan from the World Bank, with additional support of US$21.7 million from the Global Concessional Financing Facility (GCFF) and a US$15 million grant from the Fund for Innovative Global Public Goods Solutions (GPG). The Ministry of Housing, Cities and Territory will be responsible for project implementation.
Learn more about the work of the World Bank in Latin America and the Caribbean: www.worldbank.org/lac
