The United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund provides USD $2,183,936 to enhance the resilience, accessibility, and sustainability of infrastructure assets in developing countries along the Belt and Road initiative in support of the 2030 Agenda

Project narrative

In 2016, the Chinese Government pledged to contribute $200 million to the United Nations over a ten year period. The United Nations Peace and Development Trust Fund (UNPDF) was established to channel these earmarked funds to specific projects in coordination with the UN. The UNPDF is divided into two sub-funds: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund and The Secretary-General's Peace and Security Sub-Fund. Approved in 2021 by UNPDF, USD $2,183,936 was allocated from the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Sub-Fund to raise awareness amongst BRI countries and build the capacity of central and local government officials on how to design and implement effective Infrastructure Asset Management (IAM) to ensure that infrastructure assets support inclusive, affordable and sustainable essential public services over their entire lifespan. It also aims to build capacity at the level of central and local governments on how to promote an effective IAM enabling environment through improved national policy, regulatory and legislative frameworks.. The key challenge is that in many developing countries governments have fallen short in allocating public resources towards capital-intensive infrastructure projects, including resources, materials and skills needed to sustainably manage existing infrastructure assets. The trend has been exacerbated over the last two years, as COVID-19 not only reversed years of progress on the SDGs, but also exposed critical infrastructure gaps. This project strengthens the UN IAM's capacity development support towards 6 new countries: Costa Rica, Gambia, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Nepal, and Tanzania. The implementing entities are UNDESA, UNCDF, UNOPS. Collaborating partners include UNDP, UN-HABITAT, ECA, ECLAC, ESCAP, and UNEP. Project duration is scheduled for February 2022 - January 2025.