IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, signed a grant agreement with the government of Jordan represented by the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation to help boost Jordan’s public-private partnership projects in several sectors, including transport, logistics, water services, education, health and tourism.
The two will partner for a new three-year initiative, the Project Pipeline Development Facility (PPDF), designed to support the newly established Central PPP Unit at the Prime Ministry to attract more private sector participation to invest in and finance infrastructure development and foster Jordan’s competitiveness and resilience.
Under the agreement, IFC will support the work of Jordan’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Unit, which coordinates government efforts to increase private sector participation in key infrastructure projects. IFC’s team will work with the government to help assess a pipeline of viable PPP projects, open those projects to more private sector bidders through a competitive and transparent process and help ensure the optimal combination of benefits and costs and delivering the needed services. IFC will also contribute US$ 2 million to the Project Development Fund.
The agreement, the first of its kind in the Middle East, will support the government’s efforts to prepare high-quality PPP projects and mobilize private sector investment to meet the increasing demand for infrastructure and services and help create in a systematic and transparent manner of a pipeline of well-designed projects with appropriate risk allocation for the public and private sectors. It will support economic development and job creation and help the country address some of the effects of the refugee crisis.
Jordan has raised about US$ 10 billion in private capital through PPPs in the electricity, transport, and water sectors since the 1990s. IFC and the government of Jordan have worked together on several key PPP projects, including the Queen Alia Airport. IFC is currently working on a number of PPP advisory mandates in Jordan across the sectors to support better access to critical yet basic services and help bring in private sector innovation.
