The Road to the SDGs

issues that are important for both project sustainability and achieving the transport-related SDGs: – Traffic safety — All road projects will include road safety audit at the feasibility study, engineering design and engineering supervision stages – Inclusion and social sustainability — During project preparation, IsDB will examine options for serving the needs of different groups of potential users, taking into account youth and gender dimensions and the needs of poor, disadvantaged and vulnerable groups – Asset sustainability — To address the problem of inadequate maintenance, all road projects will consider the adequacy of MC asset management systems – Environmental sustainability — IsDB will apply environment- friendly approaches to the design of transport projects. Upon request fromMCs, it will provide support for preparation and implementation of environmental safeguards – Climate change — IsDB will introduce the screening of all projects for climate risks early in project preparation, and will incorporate climate-resilient design where significant risks are identified – Capacity development — At project level, IsDB will increase its support for strengthening MCs’ project implementation capacity. At sector level, it will consider providing capacity development support to address sector-wide issues and needs. POTENTIAL IMPACTS X Through the policy, IsDB seeks to realise seven new opportunities: – Establishing public-private partnership operations in MCs that have a conducive policy/ legal framework, capacity and governance arrangements – Expanding IsDB’s role in regional cooperation in transport – Co-financing with private Islamic finance institutions – Establishing project preparation financing facilities to supplement the resources available for project preparation and engineering design – Introducing innovative forms of Islamic finance for transport projects, including for multi- tranche financing – Establishing knowledge partnerships to supplement staff knowledge and expertise – Extending transport capacity development support for MCs including through Reverse Linkages. X The policy will also allow IsDB to mitigate four emerging threats: – Increasing competition from other MDBs and emerging financiers – Inadequate road maintenance and road safety threatening the sustainability of road operations in some MCs – Demand for greater efficiency from middle- and high-income MCs – Continued weakness in project preparation and administration that could eventually lead to overall portfolio risks. X The main solution to these threats will be to increase project selectivity and improve project quality and value addition. INVESTMENT X IsDB’s average financing amount for transport projects has risen steadily in recent years, from around US$ 43 million in 2012 to US$ 158 million in 2016 and 2017. This increase has helped IsDB to scale up its support more appropriately in relation to country needs and to make more efficient use of staff time. X During the period 2012–2017, IsDB transport allocations saw an average of 12 transport projects approved each year for a total of US$ 1.1 billion. X Across all regions, 72% of financing was for roads and 14% for railways, with smaller amounts for ports, airports and urban transport. T R A N S P O R T S E C T O R A L L O C A T I O N S During the period 2012–2017, an average of 12 transport projects were approved each year for a total of US$1.1 billion [ 41 ] T H E R O A D T O T H E S D G s | P R O G R E S S A N D A C H I E V E M E N T S