Infrastructure - GIF, global facility to implement complex projects

Investments

A global open platform that facilitates the management of complex infrastructure public-private partnerships to enable mobilization of private sector and institutional investor capital.

Infrastructure - Photo credit: andrewfhart via Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Funded in April 2015, the Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) is a partnership among governments, multilateral development banks, private sector investors and financiers designed to provide a new way to collaborate on preparing, structuring and implementing complex projects that no single institution could handle on its own.

The project support provided by the GIF draws on technical and advisory partners that ensure that well-structured and bankable infrastructure projects are brought to market in a sustainable and effective way. This approach has won support from private investors, donors, and governments from emerging markets and developing economies.

Structure

The GIF partners belong to one or more of the following categories:

  • funding partners providing financial contributions to the GIF partnership.
  • technical partners: multilateral development banks who lead project support activities and bring their experience in supporting infrastructure investment.
  • advisory partners: private investors or entities that represent the private sector infrastructure finance.

A Governing Council oversees the GIF partnership, supervising strategic programming and funds management and the development of operational policies and procedures. 

An Advisory Council, comprising all GIF partners and co-chaired by the managing director and chief financial officer of the World Bank Group together with an advisory partner, provides a forum for discussion on the latest developments in infrastructure finance, to share knowledge and experience, and inform the design of GIF interventions. The GIF is administered by a Management Unit, housed at the World Bank Group. 

Activities

The GIF supports Governments in bringing infrastructure projects to market. GIF’s project support can cover design, preparation, structuring and transaction implementation activities.

GIF’s project preparation and transaction support activities can include advisory support to client Governments as needed through the following project stages:

  • Project or program definition and enabling environment: preliminary work to prioritize investments and test a project concept through “pre-feasibility” analysis.
  • Project preparation and investment feasibility assessment: support to the full range of project preparation and appraisal activities required to bring the project to a point where the government is able to make an informed decision to proceed with a transaction.
  • Transaction design and implementation: support in preparing transaction documentation and managing a competitive transaction process.
  • Post-Transaction/Financing: continued support to the client government as a project moves from commercial to financial close.

Photo credit: andrewfhart via Foter.com / CC BY-SA