Project Process

As part of the Project Identification phase, the prospective borrower submits documentation pertaining to the proposed project. This documentation may include a brief project summary and/or a preliminary or final feasibility report. Following a review of the information received, AIIB may request that additional research be conducted to facilitate a more thorough assessment of the proposed project.

This additional research could involve a site visit to further assess needs and potential impacts. It could also involve additional due diligence work related to technical, economic, financial, social, environmental and governance factors.

Based on the initial review, and any additional supportive research, AIIB will work with the borrower to prepare a project concept document to be used internal deliberations.

During this phase, AIIB’s project team and the borrower’s designated agency/agencies will work closely together on project design.

In addition, AIIB's project team will make an assessment on the borrower’s initial due diligence documents and will work with the borrower’s designated agency/agencies to address any identified gaps.

Following the project appraisal, the AIIB project team will prepare a Project Document that will include the project objective/impact, rationale, project components, estimated cost, financing plan, implementation arrangement and schedule, project risks and mitigation measures, and any project covenants that were agreed to.

Subsequently, after an internal review, the Project Document will be finalized. Afterwards, draft loan agreements and project agreements will be submitted to the borrower for loan negotiations to be held on a mutually agreed to date.

After negotiations with the Borrower, the Project Document is submitted to the AIIB Board. Following the Board approval, the Project Document is posted on AIIB’s website with the Borrower’s consent. After Board approval, the Borrower’s representative and AIIB's Vice President and Chief Investment Officer sign the loan and project agreements at a mutually agreed date. The loan becomes effective only after fulfilling the respective loan effectiveness conditions, if any, and the legal requirements (legal opinion etc.).

AIIB focuses on project readiness during the project preparation stage to avoid project start-up implementation delays. This preparation stage includes:

(1) Procurement readiness (advance procurement actions for recruiting consultants and selecting contractors/suppliers);

(2) Implementation readiness (setting-up fully functional project implementation offices with qualified key staff). The designated project executing/implementation agency or agencies are responsible for implementing the project by executing each project activity as agreed in the detailed project description document, which provides overall project implementation guidance. The main purpose of achieving project readiness before the start of project implementation is to shorten the project implementation period and achieve the project impacts at the earliest.

The Borrower’s Project Implementation Office is responsible to implement the project in a timely manner. If needed, the Borrower may recruit consultants to provide specialized professional services in areas such as detailed design, preparation of bidding documents and procurement of contractors for works, suppliers for the required goods, and capacity development through trainings in all the multidiscipline areas as needed. AIIB’s project team remains fully engaged during project implementation from the stage of inception to completion. Being a lean organization, AIIB’s monitoring of project implementation and guidance for the Borrower’s team are not limited to only periodic fielding of review missions that usually are twice a year. The AIIB team also offers its advisory services through video and teleconferences as and when required to review project implementation progress and resolve any issues in a timely manner. In addition, the Project Implementation Office of the Borrower prepares monthly progress reports, including an environmental and social management report, and shares them with AIIB. Such reports highlight the updated progress of each project component and loan covenant, contractual or project management issues (if any) and respective actions. AIIB also holds project launch workshops on procurement, disbursement and environmental and resettlement related implementation plan to support designated project implementation agency/agencies for smooth project implementation.

AIIB furnishes a project completion report within 6-12 months after project completion. The AIIB team prepares a Project Completion Report (PCR) on the Project’s results, the performance by the Project Participants and AIIB, and the degree of achievement of the Project’s development objectives. The PCR provides the comparison of project impacts, outcomes, components, and implementation arrangements as originally designed and as achieved at completion, as well as the main lessons learned for incorporation in future project designs. The PCR incorporates an evaluation by the Project participants, their performance and that of AIIB, if available. Upon approval by the Vice President and Chief Investment Officer of AIIB, the Project Completion Report is submitted to the Board of Directors for information.