CAPE TOWN, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Africa and the New Development Bank (NDB) have signed a 1-billion-U.S.-dollar loan agreement to upgrade infrastructure and support reforms in the country's metropolitan municipalities, South Africa's National Treasury announced on Tuesday.
The loan will be used to upgrade infrastructure for metropolitan municipal services in South Africa as part of the Metro Trading Services Reform Program (MTSR), the treasury said in a statement.
"The MTSR is a South African government-led reform program aimed at improving the governance, financial sustainability and operational performance of municipal trading services in metropolitan municipalities, particularly in water and sanitation, electricity and energy, and solid waste management," it said.
"This is a performance-based loan with financing linked to institutional strengthening and the achievement of independently verified measurable performance targets, that are approved by metro councils for their trading services," the treasury said.
The NDB is financing the program alongside the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, KFW Development Bank and the French Development Agency, according to the statement.
The NDB loan has a nominal value of 1 billion U.S. dollars, with a 16-year maturity and a three-year grace period, according to the statement.
The financing forms part of broader government efforts to reform municipal trading services in metropolitan municipalities and improve the sustainability of urban infrastructure, it added.
"National Treasury extends its appreciation to the NDB for its support to this government-led reform toward better services for residents and stronger, more sustainable cities," the statement said.
The NDB is a multilateral development bank established by the original BRICS members -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- in 2015 to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in emerging markets and developing countries. ■