A new project unit of the COMESA-EAC-SADC Tripartite will help to prepare regional infrastructure projects for financing. In support of this goal, the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £5 million towards the PPIU’s project preparation work.
The PPIU has been functional since December 2011, and is located in TMSA’s new Lusaka-based offices.
Apart from supporting the establishment of the PPIU, TMSA has also prepared a database of 288 regional infrastructure projects. These projects were drawn from the SADC Infrastructure Master Plan and the COMESA-EAC-IOC-IGAD project lists. The PPIU is expected to create a project pipeline by developing each of these projects to its next level of preparation. Projects currently at a conceptual stage, for example, will be developed to pre-feasibility stage, and then to a bankable stage. The PPIU is also expected to arrange financing for bankable projects.
