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By APD writer Melo M. Acuña
**MANILA – **The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Singapore’s Infrastructure Asia signed a cooperation agreement to help governments in Southeast Asia implement innovative and green finance approaches to identify and develop bankable and sustainable infrastructure projects in the region where annual infrastructure investment requires a total of US$210 billion until 2030.
In a statement datelined Singapore, the Manila-based ADB said the agreement was signed during the Asia Infrastructure Forum by ADB Director General for Southeast Asia Ramesh Subramaniam and Executive Director Seth Tan of Infrastructure Asia, a Singapore agency with the fiat or obligation to support Asia’s economic and social growth through infrastructure development.
“Southeast Asia faces significant financing gaps in meeting its infrastructure needs, including for climate change mitigation and adaptation costs,” Mr. Subramaniam said. He added innovative financing approaches to mitigate risks in infrastructure projects and better leverage public funds, so that many more funds are catalyzed from private and institutional sources to support greener, cleaner and timely infrastructure development,” Subramaniam added.
“Projects structure with better financial and technical elements, along with good partnerships, are key to helping improve the bankability of Asia’s sustainable infrastructure projects,” said Infrastructure Asia’s executive director Seth Tan. He also expressed optimism the collaboration they have with ADB will result in the improvement of municipalities’ and state-owned enterprises’ access to private capital through international financing, credit enhancement and technology ecosystem in Singapore.
The agreement will allow ADB and Infrastructure Asia to help state-owned enterprises and regional and municipal governments in Southeast Asia improve their institutional, financial and governance capacities for developing innovative and green infrastructure programs and projects.
The two institutions will launch the Innovative Finance Lab for Sustainable Infrastructure, a space supported by the biennial event in Singapore, where stakeholders will exchange knowledge, improve their policy-making capacities and foster the adoption of innovative and green finance models in local infrastructure projects.
According to ADB, the Innovative Finance Lab will likewise serve as a capacity-building platform for the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN) Catalyctic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), which was launched in April 2019 to boost the development of green infrastructure projects across the ASEAN by harnessing public and private capital and technologies. The ACGF is part of the Green and Inclusive Infrastructure Window launched by Southeast Asian governments, ADB and major development financiers under the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, a regional financing initiative established eight years ago that committed US$520 million for energy, transport, water and urban infrastructure projects across the subregion.
ACGF hopes to mobilize about US$1.3 billion from different sources including the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund, ADB, the German development cooperation through KfW, the European Investment Bank, the Republic of Korea, the Agence Française de Développement. This facility is also supported by other entities including the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the Global Green Growth Institute, and the Overseas Private Investment Cooperation according to the ADB statement today.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
