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The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) and Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have launched a $1 billion financing initiative to support utility projects in the Arab region.
The private sector-focused infrastructure financing programme will allocate funds for electricity generation and transmission projects that utilize renewable energy or natural gas, as well as water and waste management facilities.
The goal is to address low private sector participation in funding energy projects by incentivising public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Beneficiaries will include all the member countries to the Saudi Arabia-headquartered Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), including the 10 member states common to APICORP and IsDB.
APICORP is owned by the governments of Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries, while IsDB is a Jeddah-based entity that extends lending to much of the Muslim world.
Ahmed Ali Attiga, CEO of APICORP, noted that increasing private sector investments in the energy sector is part of their strategy to support energy transition efforts in the Arab region.
“It is an objective we shared with our partner, IsDB… APICORP has significantly raised the size of its financing and investments in pioneering companies and strategic projects,” he said.
The financing initiative will initially run for a three-year period. Priority will be given to the 10 member countries common to APICORP and IsDB, although projects in other countries are eligible to seek finance, provided they are sponsored by a company headquartered in one of the shared member states.
(Writing by Cleofe Maceda; editing by Seban Scaria)
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