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August 2020

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@ the Global Infrastructure Facility
Helping Developing Countries Through COVID-19 and Beyond
The COVID-19 crisis represents a significant challenge to global health and economies, and developing countries are especially vulnerable to its long-term effects. Once the acute phase of this crisis is over, many governments will turn to infrastructure spending as an economic stimulus to create jobs and stimulate productive investment.

The GIF has published a statement that outlines five key principles that can serve as a blueprint to help countries build back better—with a particular emphasis on the role that project preparation facilities such as the GIF can play to help ensure that infrastructure is sustainable and creates the right conditions for private sector investment. Jérôme Jean Haegeli, GIF’s Advisory Council Co-Chair and Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist/Managing Director, Swiss Re Institute, shares his thoughts on the statement in this recent op-ed which was originally published in the Business Times on August 5th, 2020.
GIF COVID-19 Response Facility
In June, the GIF launched the COVID-19 Response Facility to provide fast-track funding and expertise to governments and MDB partners to avoid further delays of projects that have been under preparation but are stalled due to COVID-19. The dedicated GIF funding can be used for additional studies, market soundings, repricing and revaluation, and restructuring and renegotiations to help bring projects to market sooner. The Facility may also provide advisory support to financially stressed infrastructure SOEs to help them gain access to financial markets to address liquidity issues caused by the pandemic. The GIF may also support governments to design and develop sustainable and resilient infrastructure programs in line with green recovery efforts. 

Project Updates
Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, two GIF-supported projects, Sofia Airport in Bulgaria and Port Kherson in Ukraine, recently reached commercial close. These projects were implemented by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), with support from the GIF.
Sofia Airport Closing
A concession agreement between the Ministry of Transport and SOF Connect, a project company established by Meridiam Eastern Europe Investment, which includes Munich Airport and Strabag, was signed on July 22nd . This is the first major airport sector transaction to close amidst the global pandemic that has grounded many of the world´s commercial planes.

Read the press release here. 
Port Kherson Closing
Ukraine’s Ministry of Infrastructure signed a landmark public-private partnership (PPP) agreement on June 26th to develop the Kherson Sea Commercial Port under a concession model. Also signing on to the agreement were the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority and a consortium comprising Risoil S.A. and Georgian Industrial Group.

The concession will improve Ukraine’s export capacity and help transform Kherson port into a hub for cargo hauling operations on the Dnipro River, the key water artery in Ukraine.

Read the press release here

Tina River Hydropower Project wins the Asia-Pacific Hydropower Transaction of the Year 2019 Award by IJ Global
The GIF supported Tina River Hydropower Development Project was awarded the Asia-Pacific Hydropower Transaction of the Year 2019 Award by IJ Global. The project will deliver cheaper, clean power for people in the Solomon Islands and displace imported diesel. The deal, worth over $200 million, marks the first large-scale infrastructure project for Solomon Islands to be developed as a public-private partnership (PPP). This pioneering hydropower PPP signals opportunities for investment in the country.

The GIF supported the Government of Solomon Islands, through the World Bank Energy Global Practice and the IFC, in the design and structuring of the Power Purchase Agreement, blending concessional and commercial financing for an affordable system wide power tariff, and addressing environmental and social issues of the project.

Read more here.

Webinar Series: The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis in Emerging Market Infrastructure Finance & PPPs
In May, the GIF launched a three-part webinar series focusing on The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis in Emerging Market Infrastructure Finance & PPPs, and how multilateral development banks (MDBs) and the private sector can best respond. 
The second installment of the webinar series, held July 29th, looked at regional disruptions on PPPs caused by COVID-19 in the Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC) and Europe & Central Asia (ECA) regions. The first panel focused on disruptions in the LAC region. Speakers included Gastón Astesiano, PPPs Team Leader, IDB; Richard Cabello, Manager, Infrastructure Advisory, Latin America, IFC; and Guilherme Caixeta, Senior Vice President, Infrastructure, GIC. The second panel focused on disruptions in the ECA region. Speakers included Matthew Jordan Tank, Director, Sustainable Infrastructure Policy & Project Preparation, Sustainable Infrastructure Group, EBRD; Peter Jeffreys, Deputy Head of Project Finance, EIB; and Thierry Déau, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Meridiam. Imad Fakhoury, Co-Chair of the GIF Governing Council and Director of the Infrastructure Finance, PPPs & Guarantees of the World Bank, moderated the discussion, and Jason Lu, Head of the GIF, provided opening and closing remarks. 

Read the summary here.
Over 80 GIF Advisory Council members connected from around the world at the inaugural webinar on May 4th, 2020. Speakers included Jerome Jean Haegeli, Co-Chair of the GIF Advisory Council and Swiss Re’s Group Chief Economist and Managing Director, Swiss Re Institute; Makhtar Diop, Co-Chair of the GIF Advisory Council and Vice President, Infrastructure, World Bank; Imad Fakhoury, Co-Chair, GIF Governing Council and Director, Infrastructure Finance, Guarantees & PPPs, World Bank; and Riccardo Puliti, Global Director, Energy and Extractive Industries and Regional Director, Infrastructure, Africa, World Bank. The discussion was moderated by Fatouma Toure Ibrahima, Manager, Infrastructure Programs and Analytics, World Bank.

Read the summary here.
You're Invited | Global Infrastructure Forum 2020
MDBs’ role in delivering sustainable infra in the COVID-19 era | Registration is now open!

When:  6-8 October 2020
Where: 9 webinars held across multiple time zones

In its fifth year, the GI Forum is the product of a collaboration between the MDBs to bring together members of the infrastructure community to take part in discussions to enhance the development and delivery of infrastructure worldwide.

The virtual forum will consist of a program of nine 60-minute webinars held over three days. The GIF is collaborating with our MDB partners on two sessions. The first session is with the Public-Private Infrastructure Advisory Facility (PPIAF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) on “Sustainable Infrastructure Indicators: Mobilizing Investment for a Green Recovery" on October 6th, 2020, at 11 am (EDT). We are also collaborating with the African Development Bank (AfDB) on a session on “Project preparation and sustainable infrastructure” on October 7th, 2020, at 11 am (EDT). 

Visit the Forum's website to learn more and register.

Partners Corner
EBRD-supported BAKAD project in Kazakhstan reaches financial close
August 11th, 2020
EBRD

Infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific report 
August 7th, 2020
World Bank Group

IDB Flagship report: From structures to services - The Path to Better Infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean
July 30th, 2020
IDB

Latest Blogs
Read these blogs by GIF partners and staff on the latest thoughts and trends in mobilizing private infrastructure finance. 

Lessons from a Success Story: Private Port Operators in Latin America and the Caribbean
Paula Castillo snd Ancor Suárez-Alemán 
August 5th, 2020

Why Covid-19 Stimulus Needs To Account For Future Infrastructure Risks
Marie Lam-Frendo and Katherine Davisson
August 4th, 2020

Using government guarantees carefully as the private sector redefines bankability
Jenny Chao and Jason Lu
July 22nd, 2020

2019 brought private investment in infrastructure to more countries: Is there a message for policymakers amid COVID-19?
Seong Ho Hong, Fatouma Toure Ibrahima
July 16th, 2020

Why infrastructure investing in emerging markets is more critical than ever
Jerome Jean Haegeli
June 16th, 2020

Managing public-private partnerships for a post-pandemic recovery
By Sanjay Grover, Hanif Rahemtulla, Colin Gin
May 29th, 2020

Send us your latest news!
Do you have news, projects, or stories you would like to share? If so, we'd like to include them in our next newsletter. Please send them to managementunit@globalinfrafacility.org. 

About the GIF
The Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) is a G20 initiative with the overarching goals of increasing private investment in infrastructure across emerging markets and developing economies and improving services in ways that contribute to poverty reduction and equitable growth aligned with the SDGs. The GIF provides funding and hands-on technical support to client governments and multilateral development bank partners to build pipelines of bankable sustainable infrastructure investments and has designed a suite of blended finance solutions to facilitate private investment. The GIF enables collective action among a wide range of partners – including donors, development finance institutions, country governments, together with inputs of private sector investors and financiers – to leverage both resources and knowledge to find solutions to sustainable infrastructure financing challenges.
The GIF is supported by the Governments of Australia, Canada, People’s Republic of China, Denmark, Japan, Singapore, and the World Bank.
Copyright © 2019 Global Infrastructure Facility, All rights reserved.

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