IMF to lend Jordan $264 M for Syrian refugees

AMMAN (Xinhua) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it will transfer $264 million to Jordan in April as part of a loan to the kingdom, the state-run Petra news agency reported on Saturday.

The amount is part of a $2.1-billion loan the IMF agreed to extend to Jordan to help it cope with an increasing number of Syrian refugees and reduce the pressure on its budget, the report said.

The IMF said Jordan came under pressure in light of the Syrian crisis and the cut on its natural gas supplies from Egypt.

Jordan has housed about 600,000 Syrian refugees, which added pressure on the kingdom's already limited resources such as water, health care, and energy.

Jordan now imports about 96 percent of its energy needs annually. It has stopped receiving gas from Egypt since mid 2013 after the pipeline in Egypt was bombed several times. The country has been forced to expend more on its energy imports.