Multilateral fund for BRI infrastructure projects set up

A multilateral fund to support infrastructure construction projects under the Belt and Road Initiative has been established, and six countries have agreed to donate $180.2 million to the fund, according to the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday.

The fund was set up by the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance. The center is a multilateral coordination mechanism jointly launched by the Ministry of Finance, Asian Development Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and six other multilateral development institutions, including the World Bank Group and Inter-American Development Bank, in 2019.

Approved by the AIIB Board of Directors, the AIIB is the fund trustee and the executive agency of the center's projects. The bank also will establish a secretariat to support the center's operation, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement on its website.

China and five countries - Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Cambodia and the Philippines, have agreed to donate a total of $180.2 million to the fund, the statement said.

The First Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017 determined the establishment of the center as a platform to support the interconnection of infrastructure development, including that under the Belt and Road Initiative, according to the ministry.