OPEC Fund and CAF will promote efficiency in structuring development projects

The OPEC Fund approved a non-reimbursable cooperation of USD 1 million in favor of CAF -development bank of Latin America-, with the purpose of improving the structuring of projects that result in lower costs, time, environmental impact, and contingencies. The funds will also contribute to project preparation, including feasibility studies, legal and financial due diligence, environmental and social assessments, and final and detailed designs for projects of mutual interest.

This cooperation between the OPEC Fund and CAF, which have been working for 40 years in order to promote sustainable development in the region, also aims to mobilize resources to generate future credit opportunities for both institutions based on adequate preparation of projects in infrastructure sectors such as transportation, energy, communications, water and sanitation, health and climate change. This facility arises thanks to the cooperation framework that both organizations signed in October 2021.

OPEC Fund Director-General Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “This initiative will support our partner countries in the LAC region by ensuring improved readiness of investment projects and by facilitating more effective and efficient implementation. It is another important milestone in our longstanding partnership with CAF, expanding our cooperation in the area of technical assistance.”

"We are developing in CAF an ambitious agenda of alliances to put together international actors with the development of Latin America and the Caribbean and, with this, accelerate the exchange of knowledge and ensure that the region is an active part of the search for solutions to major global challenges. In this case, this Technical Assistance Facility Agreement with the OPEC Fund will allow us to double our efforts to strengthen the impact and efficiency of our financing in key areas of development in the countries of the region," said Sergio Diaz-Granados, CAF's executive president.

The relationship between CAF and the OPEC Fund began in 1982. In June 2010 a cooperation agreement was signed in Venezuela, which was renewed for 2021 with the OPEC Fund's commitment to co-finance projects with CAF for up to USD 600 million until 2024.