The Arab Petroleum Investments Corporation (APICORP) and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have launched the Infra Initiative, a US $1 billion private sector-focused infrastructure financing initiative, according to a press release published by IsDB.

The Infra Initiative will finance strategic utility projects that contribute to human and economic development in the two multilateral financial institutions’ member countries. Furthermore, under the Infra Initiative, funds will be allocated to electricity generation and transmission projects which utilize renewable energy or natural gas, as well as water and waste management facilities.

On this occasion, IsDB’s President Muhammad Al Jasser declared: “We recognize that quality infrastructure is key to economic and social development. Hence, addressing the infrastructure needs of our member countries is one of IsDB’s foremost priorities. Our cooperation with APICORP on the Infra Initiative is in this spirit. It is intended to amplify our impact by combining our two institutions’ resources, skill sets and market knowledge. It also supports our respective commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals – particularly goals 6, 7 and 9.”   

For his part, APICORP’s CEO Ahmed Ali Attiga stated, “Increasing private sector investments in the energy sector is a key area of focus for us as part of our strategy to fund the energy transition in the Arab region. It is an objective we shared with our partner, IsDB. Indeed, APICORP has significantly raised the size of its financing and investments in pioneering companies and strategic projects which are shaping tomorrow’s energy landscape.”

Although the scope of Infra Initiative, which will launch for an initial period of 3 years, includes all OIC countries, with priority given to the member countries, projects in other countries are also eligible provided they are sponsored by a company headquartered in one of the shared member states.