Egypt will sign the final agreement on a $1 billion loan from the World Bank (WB) on the 19th of December, expecting to receive the money before this year's end, state-run Al-Ahram daily newspaper reported on Monday, citing International Cooperation Minister Sahar Nasr.
The loan, which would help ease a foreign currency shortage, could be the first of three loans that form part of a three-year program with Egypt, Hafez Ghanem, the World Bank's vice president for the Middle East and North Africa, said in November.
"There is an agreement in principle that this is a $3 billion, three-year program, but that commitment is only for the first year," he added.
The government will also sign a $500 million loan agreement with the African Development Bank on the 15th of December, Al-Ahram added.