KONTAN.CO.ID - ​JAKARTA. The World Bank on Friday said it has approved a $250 million loan for Indonesia as it tackles the new coronavirus pandemic, helping the Southeast Asian country plug a ballooning fiscal deficit.

The money will be used to equip COVID-19 referral facilities, improve the capacity for intensive care and availability of personal protective equipment, and to strengthen the laboratory network and surveillance system, the bank said in a statement.

The loan was provided as part of coordinated financing efforts with other multinational banks, the Washington-based lender said.

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It added that Indonesia would also receive $250 million in co-financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and $200 million in parallel financing from the Islamic Development Bank.

Indonesia expects to run a fiscal deficit equivalent to 6.3% of gross domestic product this year, the widest in more than a decade, as it allocates $43 billion in spending on COVID-19 response and economic stimulus.

The country had already secured a $1.5 billion loan from the Manila-based Asian Development Bank in April.

The country's total number of coronavirus cases as of Friday was 25,216, with 1,520 fatalities.

Editor: Yudho Winarto