The program provides assistance to subnational governments and private sector partners, helping them attract investments and financing for urban infrastructure projects in a range of sectors including water, wastewater, and solid waste.
WD News: IFC, the private sector arm of World Bank, has signed an agreement with the government of Switzerland to begin the second phase of Sustainable Cities program, which supports green urban infrastructure development in emerging markets.
The program will run from 2023 to 2027 and aims to facilitate over $500 million in commercial financing for urban infrastructure projects, through non-sovereign loans, municipal bonds, and public-private partnerships (PPPs). Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) is providing $19 million.
The new funding builds on the success of the first phase of IFC’s Cities program, which facilitated nearly $400 million in financing between 2018 and 2022 to improve urban infrastructure services. Climate-related investments represented 87 percent of the program’s total. The program has benefited over 1.7 million people by enabling financing for more than 10 cities, including Bogota, Colombia; Casablanca, Morocco; and Ekurhuleni, South Africa.
Through the program, IFC also provided in-depth advisory services to almost 30 partners and developed tools such as the Advanced Practices for Environmental Excellence in Cities (APEX) and the E-Bus Toolkit.
The program is in line with the World Bank’s new climate change action plan, designed to increase climate finance, strengthen climate change adaptation, and align financial flows with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
Source: IFC
Image courtesy: Pixabay
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