Korea to finance state projects of Honduras, Uzbekistan

Korea said Sunday it has decided to provide a combined $48 million in aid funds to help build a public hospital in Honduras and construct a geographical information system in Uzbekistan.

The money will come from Korea's state-run fund called the economic development cooperation fund (EDCF) aimed at helping less-developed countries through low interest rate loans.

The finance ministry said that Korea will help the Central American country with a state project to build a public hospital in the poverty-stricken region of Choluteca, which is likely to benefit around 1 million residents with medical services.

The project came as Honduran President Porfirio Lobo visited Seoul in February to ask for Korea to lend a hand with its public sector in fields such as education, health care and infrastructure development.

Meanwhile, the project to construct the geographical information system in Uzbekistan is aimed at accurately analyzing related data and helping craft its development projects, according to the finance ministry. (Yonhap)