The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will boost its support for small and medium-size infrastructure investments in Latin America and the Caribbean by providing as much as $60 million in new financing for Corporación Interamericana para el Financiamiento de Infraestructura S.A. (CIFI).
“The infrastructure gap in the region remains large and private sector financing for infrastructure, especially small and medium-size projects, has been scarce during the last few years,’’ said Andrés Ackermann, team leader for the project. “CIFI is a key IDB partner to channel further funding to the infrastructure sector in the region by providing debt financing for small and medium sized projects.”
“This transaction will continue our strategic relationship with IDB and will provide important resources to reach a common objective of financing small and medium-size infrastructure projects, crucial to the development and progress of the region,” said Roldan Trujillo, CIFI’s General Manager.
The IDB will provide a senior secured loan for up to $60 million with a 7-year tenor and a three-year grace period. The IDB loan will contribute to CIFI’s efforts to mobilize resources from the private sector and multilateral agencies to support expected growth. This loan complements a previous syndicated loan approved by the IDB in 2004, totaling $50 million.
“This facility is part of IDB’s commitment to develop mechanisms to support long term funding of small and medium-size infrastructure projects in the region. Through this facility, IDB will continue its support of mobilizing private and multilateral resources for infrastructure projects with significant developmental impact and additionality”, commented Daniela Carrera-Marquis, head of IDB’s division of Financial Markets.
CIFI has provided around $450 million to projects and companies in the sectors of power, renewable energy, transportation, telecommunications, alternative fuels and other related sectors.
