The Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) approved three projects under its Finance Facility totaling USD1.99 million. These projects proposed by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in the Asia region, Indonesia and Lao PDR are expected to promote IFI standards through capacity building and high-quality project preparation. The three projects are:

• A USD790,000 grant to AIIB to support Capacity Building and Knowledge Sharing on Environmental and Social Safeguards. The MCDF grant will advance good practices around environmental and social (ES) safeguards and promote the adoption and application of IFI standards among client countries and new partners with a focus on the Asia region. The activities will include the conduct of gap analyses, development of a toolkit, and organization of a community of practice and capacity building events for ES safeguards. The MCDF grant will also help facilitate the preparation of projects with high ES safeguards standards in both the sovereign and non-sovereign space for targeted clients.
• A USD500,000 grant to Ministry of Public Works and Housing of Indonesia to support preparation of the Batam-Bintan Bridge Project. The MCDF grant will facilitate active collaboration between the Government of Indonesia and AIIB in undertaking high-quality project preparation, particularly related to environmental and social (ES) safeguards, to help improve the performance and success of AIIB’s potential underlying investment (Batam Bintan Bridge Project), a connectivity project that aims to improve regional connectivity in the west of Indonesia by constructing a segment of the Batam-Bintan inter-island bridge. Information on the underlying AIIB investment is available here. The activities to be financed by the MCDF grant will include additional work needed to bring the local Environmental Impact Assessment and land acquisition plan in compliance with IFI standards as expressed by AIIB’s Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) requirements.
• A USD700,000 grant to Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) of Lao PDR to support Road Development Program in Lao PDR. The MCDF grant will assist MPWT in project preparation related to the National Road 13 South Extension (NR13SE) Project in Lao PDR, which AIIB is considering financing, and capacity building for the Department of Roads (DoR) in the MPWT in managing the Output and Performance-based Road Contract (OPBRC). The MCDF grant is instrumental in assisting the Government of Lao PDR in undertaking high-quality project preparation activities and improving the capacity to implement projects in line with IFI standards. The grant will also facilitate the collaboration of the Government of Lao PDR and AIIB while promoting a new partnership with a potential co-financier to the NR13SE Project.

The MCDF will continue to work closely with developing country governments, IFIs and emerging market financiers and promote IFI standards through financing information sharing, capacity building and project preparation activities. To date, the MCDF Governing Committee has approved a total of 6 projects under the Finance Facility, with a total amount of over USD3.8 million.