Deadline: 19 September 2013
Open to: public entities at central or local government level and/or agencies and companies responsible for the provision of public utilities and services in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia
Grant: large grants and loans to support investments in infrastructure or specialised financial assistance programmes
Description
The Western Balkans Investment Framework (WBIF) supports socio-economic development and EU accession across the Western Balkans through the provision of finance and technical assistance for strategic investments, particularly in infrastructure, energy efficiency and private sector development. It is a joint initiative of the EU, International Financial institutions, bilateral donors and the governments of the Western Balkans. The WBIF focuses on key sectors of the Western Balkan economies including energy, environment, transport, social issues and private sector development. Projects must be nominated or endorsed by the National IPA Coordinator of the respective country and projects with regional impact take precedence when deciding among applications.
This call will serve as a test for the inclusion of a “climate change window” into the WBIF whereby they will try to identify financing that can be attributed to climate change related aspects of the proposed investment.
To date, WBIF grants have been awarded to 145 projects spread across all seven Beneficiaries with an estimated overall investment value of over 13 billion Euros. These awards, made over eight rounds of calls for proposals, are in response to submissions made by the Beneficiaries and the support predominantly for technical assistance to prepare projects for investment, to enhance their administrative and technical capacities and secure the necessary financing. Some projects have received investment grants to assure project implementation.
The ninth round was concluded in June 2013. The WBIF Steering Committee approved 15 grants with a total value of approximately 15.9 million Euros, which are expected to result in loans to a value of approximately 388 million Euros and a total investment of approximately 736 million Euros.
The WBIF provides grants and loans to support investments in infrastructure or specialised financial assistance programmes. Grants can be for:
- Technical assistance to prepare infrastructure investments (e.g. to carry out a feasibility study etc.). To date, most of the grants approved have been of this type.
- Technical assistance to overcome specific obstacles that are delaying the preparation or implementation (e.g. construction) of a priority investment project. However, it must be noted in order to consider and justify WBIF support for faltering projects there must be a thorough analysis of the causes of blockages accompanied by a clear and logical use of grant support that will lead to progress. As a general principal, WBIF will not add more subsidy to an existing investment but will consider support to improve the policy/regulatory environment relevant to the investment, through capacity building.
- Technical assistance to undertake research and analysis to facilitate the development of investments in a particular sector or sub-sector
- Technical assistance to support policy reforms and institution building required to improve the investment climate (usually as part of a large financing facility (e.g. the WBIF’s Enterprise Development and Innovation Facility – EDIF – see HERE).
- Capital expenditure. For very particular cases where a funding gap is clearly identified.
- Incentive payments for financial intermediaries. For example with provision of SME financing.
- Interest rate subsidies. The cost of borrowing may be reduced where the need is justified; this is a facility provided by particular IFIs, notably the CEB
- Insurance premia. Funding of insurance premia necessary to implement a project.
Eligibility
Countries are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Serbia. Current WBIF practice is that the project promoters of an investment proposal seeking WBIF support should be public entities at central or local government level and/or agencies and companies responsible for the provision of public utilities and services.
Application
The deadline for this 10th Call for Project Proposals is on 19 September 2013. In line with the agreed criteria only projects submitted and/or endorsed by the National IPA Coordinators (NIPACs) from the individual beneficiary governments are eligible for consideration. Following a call for project submissions, applications must be received at least 3 weeks before the next meeting of the Project Financiers’ Group.
Project applications must follow the agreed project grant application form AVAILABLE HERE.
The Practical Guidelines for WBIF Project Application and Submission AVAILABLE HERE will assist WBIF beneficiaries and project promoters in preparing suitable applications. Read them carefully.
National IPA Coordinators may contact their local WBIF office for assistance in preparing project proposals. Projects not approved at a specific PFG meeting may be re-submitted following the next call for submissions. For the project submission or for any queries regarding this process please email: elarg-wbif@ec.europa.eu.
Additional information about the Western Balkans Investment Framework Programme can be found HERE. For additional support, please contact your country’s WBIF contact person, or the National IPA Coordinator in your country. The official website is available HERE.