Cities Development Initiative for Asia

Project description

Title: Cities Development Initiative for Asia
Commissioned by: German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Country: Asian countries, based in the Philippines
Overall term: 2007 to 2015

Context

In the next 20 years, if economic growth and competitiveness are to continue, Asia's cities must collectively be prepared to provide infrastructure and services for an expected one billion additional people. The main concerns these cities have are the anticipated major shortfalls in the coverage and quality of urban services and infrastructure. Traditional top-down approaches to developing urban infrastructure have left many cities without the capacity to carry out the complex work of project development and financial structuring. To find adequate responses, the municipal authorities have to overcome many constraints. Two things in particular are critical: access to financing to pay for new infrastructure, and the institutional capacity to plan urban investments strategically. The Cities Development Initiative for Asia (CDIA) was established to help mid-sized cities meet these challenges.

Objective

The institutional capacities of Asian cities have improved, allowing them to make appropriate investments in public infrastructure for sustainable urban development, while accommodating environmental considerations, poverty reduction needs, good governance and gender equality.

Approach

By using innovative approaches and tools, CDIA helps the cities to identify and develop urban investment projects as part of their existing development plans. Emphasis is placed on one or more of the following key areas:

  • Urban environmental improvement
  • Urban poverty reduction
  • Climate change mitigation or adaptation
  • Good urban governance

To facilitate these activities within the municipalities, CDIA works directly with the cities and with national organisations that support urban management. The initiative provides expertise and a range of capacity development measure, including activities in the following areas, depending on each cities needs:

  • Advice to help strengthen institutional capacities for planning and prioritising infrastructure investments
  • Advice on preparing pre-feasibility studies for priority infrastructure investment projects
  • Identification of potential private sector involvement in infrastructure financing
  • Capacity development related to municipal infrastructure investment planning
  • Advice on marketing local investment proposals to potential financiers.

Results achieved so far

By the end of 2010, based on pre-feasibility studies supported by CDIA, financing partners (mainly ADB and KfW) had taken over the subsequent stages of project development for 12 infrastructure investment projects in nine cities. It is estimated that these particular interventions will amount to about USD 2.3 billion of investment in strategic urban infrastructure. The pre-feasibility studies prepared for these cities looked at a wide range of sectors, including urban transport, solid waste management, drainage control and flood management. The investments now being planned as a result are aimed primarily at environmental improvements, while poverty reduction, good governance and climate change responses are secondary aspects.

The municipal authorities that have engaged with CDIA are now better able to link their urban infrastructure projects to new sources of financing, including international institutions and the private sector. Examples of the latter include Banda Aceh in Indonesia, Iloilo in the Philippines and Faisalabad in Pakistan, in each of which innovative financing sources have been developed using development partnerships with the private sector.

The cities of Kathmandu in Nepal, Pakse in Laos, and Guiyang in China have all made use of the Project Programming and Prioritisation Toolkit to enhance their development planning processes.

The Shanghai Municipal People's Government in China is collaborating with CDIA to develop the Shanghai International Centre for Infrastructure Finance. This is intended to promote joint activities encouraging investment in urban infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.

Improvement of urban water supply systems

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    Contact


    Bernhard Dohle
    Email: bernhard.dohle@giz.de