Maputo — The Board of Directors of the US government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) on Wednesday approved a programme of 500 million dollars of aid for Mozambique.

The aid packages from the MCC are known as compacts, and this one is called the Mozambique Connectivity and Coastal Resilience Compact.

Cited in an MCC press release, the MCC executive director, Alice Albright, said that the Board's approval of the compact reaffirms the commitment of the MCC "to directly tackle economic growth constraints through innovative solutions'.

"In Mozambique, we're implementing MCC's most climate-forward compact- a combination of resilient transport infrastructure, green and blue economy opportunities, and policy and institutional reforms to enable more effective and long-term growth.', said Albright.

This is MCC's second compact with Mozambique - the first ran from 2008 to 2013, and involved grants of 506.9 million dollars spent on water and sanitation, land tenure, transport and agriculture.

"Through this programme', the release say, "the MCC seeks to improve transport connectivity in rural areas, incentivize commercial agriculture through policy and fiscal reforms, and improve coastal livelihoods through climate resilience initiatives.

The Millennium Challenge Corporation describes itself as "an independent U.S. government development agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth'.

Set up in 2004, MCC provides "time-limited grants that pair investments in infrastructure with policy and institutional reforms to countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption and respecting democratic rights'.