Development Loans

Two loans, to Mexico for railway refurbishing and to Uruguay for electric-power development, were announced last week by the Export-Import Bank of Washington and the World Bank.

The Mexico loan, $23,260,000, was the last installment of a $150 million credit earmarked for Mexico by the Export-Import Bank in 1950 to cover a variety of projects. One of the Mexican railroad systems' biggest problems is a lack of engines to haul its rolling stock, so about half the money will be used to buy diesel locomotives, both road and switcher types. Most of the remaining cash will be spent on rails, switches, communication equipment and electrical supplies.

In Uruguay a large part of the $25.5 million World Bank loan was made in West German marks, and the rest in Swedish kronor, Swiss francs, and other currencies to allow the country's nationalized electric-power system to buy equipment from European bidders. The specific Uruguayan project: a hydroelectric power plant at Rincon de Biagorria on the Rio Negro complete with transmission and distribution facilities. The new plant will increase Uruguay's power production a fat 25%.

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