IFC to lend $150M to Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board

Chennai, June 11 (IANS) International Finance Corporation (IFC) part of the World Bank group plans a green financing package of $150 million to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB).KIIFB is an infrastructure funding agency wholly owned by the Kerala State and mandated with appraising, financing, and monitoring the construction of a portfolio of the State's infrastructure projects.The loan tenor is up to 10 years with a two-year grace period. IFC may mobilise around $50 million from parallel lenders.According to IFC, the investment proceeds will be used to finance critical urban infrastructure for Kerala State.The funds will be deployed across two components: (i) construction of four new water supply projects, and (ii) construction of four hospital expansions which are to be EDGE (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies) certified.IFC also said the financing is expected to be accompanied by a comprehensive advisory package to: (i) help KIIFB implement the construction of water and hospital expansion projects according to international environmental and social (E&S) best practices and build up its E&S capacities, (ii) certify the hospital projects as green buildings using IFC's EDGE tool, (iii) help KIIFB develop a Green Financing Framework, and (iv) provide KIIFB with guidance and capacity-building for incorporating climate resilience into its operations.
--IANS vj/in