The OPEC Fund–Asian Development Bank (ADB) Project Preparation and Implementation Support Trust Fund (PPISTF), a single-donor trust fund managed by ADB to support improved project preparation, design, and procurement readiness in its developing member countries (DMCs), was launched today in Vienna, Austria.
The OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) will initially contribute US $3 million to the PPISTF, said the ADB press note.
The fund will support all project preparation activities agreed between the two institutions.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the first OPEC Fund Development Forum in Vienna.
“Financing project readiness activities can significantly improve implementation quality,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “The trust fund will help ensure that project readiness is improved, and project start-up delays are reduced so that activities are implemented as designed and benefits achieved within planned timeframes.”
“This initiative will support our partner countries by ensuring quality at entry and readiness of investment projects and facilitating more effective and efficient implementation,” said OPEC Fund Senior Director Strategic Planning and Economic Services Shaimaa Al-Sheiby. “It is also another important milestone in our longstanding partnership with ADB, expanding our cooperation in the area of technical assistance.”
The PPISTF will help eligible countries build a pipeline of well-prepared, technically sound investment projects and achieve full and timely project results for intended beneficiaries. Projects which take early action to improve design preparation are more likely to be implemented on time, achieve expected outcomes, and leverage financing. Improving project readiness leads to better design preparation and reliable cost estimates, thereby minimizing cost overruns.
While the fund will cover all sectors in which the OPEC Fund and ADB operate, the focus will be on infrastructure, including energy, transportation, communication, water and sanitation, and other basic and social infrastructure, it added.
The OPEC Fund is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to nonmember countries exclusively. The organization works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international development community to stimulate economic growth and social progress in low- and middle-income countries around the world, it reads.
