The International Development Association (IDA), the soft-loan arm of the World Bank, has issued its first loan guarantee for a private sector project, clearing the way for a $233m financing of the largest gas fired power station in west Africa. The IDA, which has lent more than $100bn at concessional interest rates to the world's poorest countries, has been under increasing pressure to help mobilise private capital for projects in countries not regarded as sufficiently creditworthy by commercial banks.