December 3-4, 2013 Manila, Philippines |Development Roundtable for Project Preparation
3 December 2013
Following a series of planning meetings between the Asian Development Bank and the African Development Bank, the first [inaugural] Development Bank Roundtable meeting was held in Manila on December 3rd and 4th. The theme of the roundtable meeting was Project Preparation. This was meeting provided a collaborative setting for development bank practitioners from around the world to share knowledge and expertise on issues concerning project preparation. This first meeting brought together participants from The African Development Bank (AfDB), The Asian Development Bank (ADB), The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), The International Finance Corporation (IFC), The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA), The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Lazaars and Meridian Infrastructure – as well as the Infrastructure Consortium for Africa (ICA).
Discussions revolved around how to advance private sector participation in infrastructure through enhanced project preparation/development and transaction advisory services. The ICA was invited to give a presentation on its’ assessment of project preparation facilities (link to ICA of the assessment report) and to give an on-line demonstration of the project preparation FUND FINDER tool.
The main ICA outcomes of this meeting were:
1. There is a need for an integrated approach to project preparation for public-private-partnerships. The need for inter-institutional collaboration on the subject based on a working model with common principles applied in a manner that can be both flexible to country /region specific issues –but also ensure consistency and standardization.
2. There is a need for better information and education for investors on the issue of infrastructure project risks – allocation and mitigation.
3. An agreement between participating institutions to collaborate in the development of the International System for Infrastructure Support (ISIS) which will integrate section of the previously developed National Infrastructure Information System (NIIS) piloted in
Philippines by the ADB and ICA’s Project Preparation Fund Finder.
4. A desire amongst participants to collaborate on the enhancement of project preparation facilities –and collectively endorse the Project Preparation Facilities Network (PPFN) for Africa.