The Norwegian Government has committed NOK 45 million to the NEPAD, Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) covering the period, 2007-2009. According to a communiqué recently signed by the Norwegian Ambassador in Tunisia, Thorbjorn Gaustadsaether, and countersigned by AfDB Secretary-General,. Modibo Toure, the Bank agreed to a schedule of activities connected to the disbursement of the funds to be delivered by October, 2009: presentation of two Annual reports to the NEPAD-IPPF Oversight Committee approved by the Board of Directors and two IPPF mid-year progress reports. The first of five instalments began on December 20, 2007, and the last disbursement is expected in October 2009.
In response to the Norwegian government's maiden contribution, the African Development Bank Group's NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Director, Rosalind Thomas, praised the initiative, saying that "This is a key step toward enabling NEPAD-IPPF realize its mandate. It demonstrates the growing interest in developing infrastructure in Africa. We thank the Government of Norway for this contribution that we will use in financing the preparation of important regional infrastructure projects in Africa".
The NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund, a program of the Facility currently financed by Canada and Denmark, assists RMCs, RECs and other regional infrastructure development institutions in preparing regional infrastructure projects in energy, trans-boundary water resources management, transportation, and ICT. In 2007, the Fund mobilized US$ 22.5 million, and it is expecting a contribution of £6 million from DFID (UK), € 2 million from the German government in 2008 earmarked for Infrastructure development capacity building in Regional Economic Communities (RECs), and has targeted interested countries such as Japan, China, India, and selected African nations for their contribution. The AfDB is considering making financial contributions from its net income.
The NEPAD-IPPF Special Fund supports Project Cycle activities to ensure the creation of a sustainable enabling environment for infrastructure development and private sector participation. Targeted capacity building initiatives designed to support the strengthening of institutional capacity to ensure the creation and sustenance of an appropriate enabling environment for infrastructure development would be supported by the Fund. Activities eligible for financing are advisory services, studies, technical assistance, workshops and seminars and, generally, any other activities of an advisory, technical or operational nature related to the preparation of projects and programmes in infrastructure development within the framework of NEPAD.
About NEPAD-IPPF
At the request of the Heads of State and Government Implementation Committee (HSGIC) of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) initiative in November 2001, the AfDB prepared a program for the rapid development of infrastructure projects that are necessary to accelerate sub-regional and continental economic integration. The program--NEPAD Infrastructure Action Plan--formed the basis on which the Canada Fund for Africa (CFA) pledged the creation of the NEPAD Infrastructure Project Preparation Facility (NEPAD-IPPF) at the Bank, and gave Canada a 10 million-Canadian-dollar grant to support Bank activities in the implementation of the NEPAD Initiative, specifically with respect to Infrastructure development. In addition to housing a facility in the NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Department, the AfDB has been providing technical assistance and advisory services in support of the development and implementation of the initiative since 2001. The NEPAD-IPPF grant is untied, and funds the facility for infrastructure project and programme preparation under NEPAD.
Contact: Emmanuel Ngwainmbi, NEPAD, Regional Integration and Trade Department +216 71 10 26 27. Email: e.ngwainmbi@afdb.org
