The European Investment Bank (EIB) has joined the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) as a technical partner.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has joined the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) as a technical partner. The GIF is a multi-donor platform set up by the World Bank Group to bridge the global infrastructure investment gap by leveraging private sector and institutional investor capital for complex infrastructure projects.
“To meet the Sustainable Development Goals, mobilising private investment and other institutional resources is a must, but it is not enough,” said EIB Vice-President Vazil Hudák at the signature of the agreement, held at the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C. on Wednesday 20 April 2017. “We all know that technical assistance to support project preparation and capacity building is key to the development of a pipeline of robust, economically sensible and sustainable infrastructure projects.”
A concrete example of MDB collaboration
The EIB and other Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) had already signed a collaboration agreement in 2014, with a view to ultimately joining the GIF. “The EIB has been supportive of the Global Infrastructure Facility since its creation,” said Hudák. “We have been pleased to witness and to contribute informally to the development and implementation of the facility.” The GIF started operations in 2015 with an initial capitalisation of USD 100 million.
As a technical partner, the EU bank aims to enhance its collaboration with other MDBs to support major infrastructure projects, bringing both knowledge and expertise. “We will do our utmost to look for candidate projects in our portfolio to benefit from this facility and identify other ways or working alongside other technical partners,” explained Hudák.
Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group Joaquim Levy said, "The Global Infrastructure Facility very much welcomes the European Investment Bank as an important new member. It is particularly important for the delivery of sustainable infrastructure to have a very strong and broad range of technical partners."