The International Infrastructure Support System
PPIAF is delighted to join various other MDBs and private sector partners on the advisory panel (represented by Acting Manager, Matt Bull) of The International Infrastructure Support System. PPIAF is also in the process of developing a funding package for the system (to be reviewed by the PPIAF donor group). The International Infrastructure Support System is a project preparation platform in the form of online guidelines and standardized templates (general and sector specific). The International Infrastructure Support System platform will provide a tool to help developing country governments improve the quality of their project development documents, address information asymmetry and increase their interface with the private sector. The ultimate goal of IISS is to increase the delivery of sustainable infrastructure by increasing the availability of private finance for projects in developing countries.
IISS aims to maximize the limited funds available for project preparation by providing standardized templates to governments, thereby reducing the transaction costs and time required to prepare projects. The platform also aims to increase the interface between private sector firms, financiers and public sector sponsors. It will include an exchange where the public sector can market sound projects with the private sector to judge their interest in them. IISS will charge nominal fees to public sector clients, as well as fees to the private sector firms that wish to access the project information on the exchange. Based on its demand forecasts, the platform expects to be financially sustainable within four years of its launch.
The International Infrastructure Support System project builds on an ADB pilot, the National Infrastructure Information Systems (NIIS), which offered governments a secure and standardized basis for preparing infrastructure projects, and sharing of project information. NIIS was identified in the MDB Action Plan (2011) as one of the key solutions to the issues raised by the G20[1] on the need to support project preparation in developing countries. The expanded version of the NIIS platform was renamed the IISS to reflect the expanded scope.
A press release on the forthcoming Annual Meeting of IISS to be held on November 4 2014 can be found here.