UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency, has extended a £42m guarantee for Gloucestershire-based steel fabricator Mabey Bridge to ship 87 emergency bridges Ghana.
The structures will be designed and made in the UK and shipped to west Africa, where local engineers will be trained to erect them under the supervision of Ghana’s Ministry of Roads and Highways.
A mixture of coastal erosion and rainfall have damaged Ghana’s towns and coastline, cutting off access to flood-affected regions.
Once the bridges are installed, they will provide quicker, safer and more efficient access to employment, education and healthcare.
The £43m comes as the afency announced £2.3bn in funding for Africa between 2020 and 2021.
Michael Treacy, Mabey Bridge chief executive said: “Sustainable, climate-resilient infrastructure is critically important to post-disaster recovery and development. The financing from UK Export Finance will enable us to successfully deliver this ambitious programme, in partnership with the Ghanaian government.”
Desislava Radeva, director of structured export finance at Standard Chartered Bank, said: “We are extremely proud to reinforce our position as a reliable bank of choice to the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Ghana and to enhance our collaboration with UKEF by delivering this important financing."
