EBRD announces new financing to support refugee hosts

AMMAN — The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) on Wednesday said that its board of directors approved a new 375-million-euro framework to fast-track infrastructure investments in municipalities in Jordan and Turkey that have been most severely affected by the Syrian refugee crisis.

Under the Municipal Resilience Refugee Response Framework, municipalities in Jordan will benefit from EBRD financing of 225 million euros, according to a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times by the London-based bank, which indicated that municipalities in Turkey will have access to 150 million euros in financing.  

The framework will be complemented by substantial donor funding for co-investment and technical cooperation in support of the long-term sustainability projects. These include reforms to improve municipal institutions and services, particularly those aimed at promoting inclusion and gender equality, said the statement. 

The EBRD said it has approved 11.2 million euros in grants from its own funds dedicated to the framework’s investments in Jordan and is seeking further grant resources from international donors.

“The EBRD is a key player in the economies affected by the refugee crisis.  As such, we are stepping up our support to these countries with investments in infrastructure, finance and advice to small businesses and access to jobs and training that have immediate impact on host communities and refugees alike.

“We are ready with a comprehensive investment plan worth 900 million euros and we are working with the donor community to launch new operations such as those approved today,” Alain Pilloux, EBRD vice president of Policy and Partnerships, was quoted in the statement as saying. 

Donors such as the European Union and the United Kingdom have provided 70 million euros so far to allow the EBRD to rapidly respond to the urgent needs of host communities and refugees. In order to accelerate the implementation of operations the bank is also using grants from its net income allocation.

Under the EBRD’s refugee response package for Jordan and Turkey, the bank aims to finance up to 500 million euros in new transactions subject to the mobilisation of an additional 400 million euros in grants.

To date, the EBRD has invested 574 million euros in Jordan and 7.7 billion euros in Turkey, with the vast majority of projects in both countries in the private sector.