Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development Regional Infrastructure Development in Africa
About Kuwait Fund Established in 1961, 6 months after Kuwait became independent Capital = KD 50 million (US$165 million) Geographical coverage= Arab Countries Today 2010 Net worth KD 4.0 billion (US$ 14 Billion) Geographical coverage 104 Countries worldwide Types of assistance Loans Grants & Technical Assistance Contributions to Multilateral Development Institutions
Kuwait Fund Operations 104 Countries 800 Projects US$ 15 Billion Agriculture Transport Energy Industry Water & Sewage Social Infrastructure
Kuwait Fund Operations in Africa 49 Countries 535 Projects US$ 7 Billion
Kuwait Fund Operations in Africa
KF in African Regional Infrastructure Loan No. 1 : Sudan Railways
Kuwait Fund Approach to Project Identification Project priorities set by beneficiary Countries Kuwait Fund can provide technical assistance to assist in project identification and prioritization Participation in Round-Table meeting to present priority projects The Fund verifies that the selected projects are beneficial to the Country’s economic and social development
KF in African Regional Infrastructure Coordinated Approach (Few) Two or more Countries simultaneously approaching the Fund to participate in Regional project components (OMVS), (Tanzania- Burundi-Rwanda) Single-sided approach (Majority) One Country approaches the Fund to participate in a project component in Regional programme (Trans African Highways) Results incomplete Regional Programmes Reduced benefits of national components
The Rising Cost of Infrastructure Example from road construction that has risen from about US$150,000 /km in 1992 to over US$850,000 in An average increase of 12% per annum Snowballing effect of escalation Rising costs vs. donors commitments
Recommendations More coordinated approach Higher priority to Regional Programmes Optimization and Value Engineering More Competitiveness Packaging large programmes Multilateral Institutions role in Regional Infrastructure Programme identification, planning and coordination