A USD157,500 grant to promote air connectivity in Latin America and the Caribbean was approved by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) Governing Committee during its meeting in Beijing on 26 March. The project will be implemented by the Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean (CAF).

MCDF’s grant aims to help local governments and communities, airport operators, businesses, and other stakeholders develop bankable, high-quality projects in the airport sector, with the support from CAF. The project will focus on the generation of reliable information on airport cities and regional connectivity needed to guide planning and investment decisions.

The MCDF grant will fund data gathering on city airport dynamics and features; management approaches; investment requirements; operational issues; and financial, economic, and social safeguard considerations.

It is the first MCDF pre-concept development grant, to be used by an MCDF Implementing Partner to assess concept viability, and could foster one or more investment projects to expand air connectivity in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The grant-funded activities seek to enhance local stakeholders’ and CAF’s understanding of the association between airports and urban and regional development and help them develop a short-list of collaborative investment opportunities. The project will also help CAF refine its air transport sector lending strategy and build CAF’s and stakeholders’ capacity to jointly identify and screen pilot connectivity projects.

"Our partnership with the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance marks a crucial step in CAF's commitment to enhancing airport infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean,” said Ignacio Corlazzoli, Manager for Resource Mobilization and Global Alliances at CAF.

“By securing this technical assistance grant, we are not only investing in the future of city airports but also in the economic growth and connectivity of the region as a whole,” he continued. “Together with MCDF, we are confident that we can pave the way for transformative change in the aviation sector."

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