MENA › Investment › Private Sector Initiatives › Fourth Meeting of the Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq, Amman, 26-28 March 2011

Fourth Meeting of the Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq, Amman, 26-28 March 2011

Send Send Print print

 

The Islamic Development Bank announced $100,000 in feasibility study funding for a planned network of market complexes for farm produce during the fourth meeting of the Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq, held in Amman, Jordan on 26-28 March 2011. The meeting also set detailed timelines or defined initial measures to advance five other Government of Iraq (GoI) priority infrastructure projects towards financing. The other projects are the Grand Fao port, a network of abattoirs, a thermal electricity station at Yousifea, residential communities including service infrastructure such as schools and clinics, and a third train for associated gas treatment in the North Gas Complex.

 

(front row, from left to right) Mr. Firas Hardan, NIC, Mr. Shakir Fayyadh, Ministry of Finance, Mr. Abdulhussein Al Anbaki, Prime Minister Economic Council, Mr. Juwad Hadi Abbas, Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq in Jordan, Dr. Sami Al-Araji, Chairman of the NIC, Dr. Alexander Böhmer, Head of Unit, MENA-OECD Investment Programme, Mr. Riyadh Yousef Aboud, Chairperson, Infrastructure Committee, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure, Mr. Kamal Field Al Basri, Expert on Iraqi Economic Affairs, Mr. Husain Al-Chalabi, International Energy Sector Consultant


(second row, from left to right) Mr. Ehsan Salman, Ministry of Transportation, Mr. Nadhim Mutlaq, Ministry of Oil, Mr. Hasan Mahmud, Islamic Development Bank, Mr. Faisal Al-Haimus, HSBC, Mr. Tahseen Ali Abbas, Ministry of Municipalities, Mr. Emad Alshaheri, Ministry of Construction and Housing, Mr. Mohammed Field, City of Basra Reconstruction Project, Mr. Shigeru Handa, UNDP, Mr. Mehdi Jasim, Ministry of Electricity, Mr. Carl Dawson, Iraq Project Coordinator, MENA-OECD Investment Programme

 

The meeting featured case studies of successes and challenges in public-private partnerships (PPP) in the MENA region, Jordan and Iraq, and discussed the regulatory frameworks most conducive to PPP arrangements. The final declaration included calls for further moves towards legislative PPP frameworks as well as intensive training on related issues, the creation of a PPP unit within the Ministry of Finance, a broad study on infrastructure finance needs in Iraq, and more progress in identifying PPP or development bank loan opportunities for the priority projects. 

Documentation:

Selected presentations:

Session 1 – Successes and challenges of PPPs in the MENA region

Sessions 2 & 3 – Parallel meetings of the Expert Groups:

 

 

Final declaration and action plan:

 

English / Arabic

 

 

The Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq

  • Has been coordinated by the MENA-OECD Investment Programme since November 2009 
  • Is charged with making recommendations on priority infrastructure projects and preparing related PPP proposals or development bank loan applications
  • Aims to assist the Government of Iraq in accessing extra-budgetary sources of finance for essential projects that would be delayed or shelved if they depended solely on government revenue, and in rendering budgetary funds that are available for infrastructure more effective by combining them with private capital and the associated technical expertise
  • Emphasises the importance of an appropriate regulatory framework for PPP
  • Has mobilized 11 Iraqi ministries and agencies through the Office of the Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure, as well as international experts from OPIC, Coface, the Islamic Development Bank, the OECD, MIGA, and the World Bank.

The MENA-OECD Investment Programme partnership with Iraq

  • Was first launched in October 2007 following a request from the Government of Iraq
  • Is implemented in close collaboration with the private sector, and supported by a broad range of governments and development agencies
  • Aims to promote private sector development and build government capacity to attract foreign investment, contributing to the development of a stable economy
  • Has two main fields of activity:
    • The Working Group on Infrastructure Finance in Iraq
    • Capacity building for the Iraqi National Investment Commission (NIC), focusing on: 
      • The NIC one-stop shop for investor services
      • The Iraqi Investment Law
      • Training for GoI officials in the negotiation of investment agreements and in investor-State dispute settlement
      • Support for a national investment strategy, including investment zones
      • The integration of GoI officials into regional and international networks
      • Raising awareness of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention with a focus on integrity in public procurement.

 

Previous events: