MN-Mining Infrastructure Investment Supp (P118109)

closed

The development objectives of the Mining Infrastructure Investment Support Project (MINIS) for Mongolia are to facilitate investments in infrastructure to support mining and downstream processing activities, regardless of funding source, and to build local capacity to prepare and transact infrastructure projects. There are four components to the project, the first component being support for infrastructure investments. The project will provide financing to prepare regional infrastructure investment plans, conduct feasibility studies to assess technical options and determine economic and financial implications of proposed projects, and address emerging priority issues as a result of the country's nascent enabling environment governing private participation in infrastructure. The second component is the capacity building and knowledge transfer. A long-term approach for building capacity and developing the requisite skills to prepare infrastructure projects and transactions with investors will be necessary to develop local skills. The third component is the strengthening groundwater management. Support will be provided to strengthen the capacity of local authorities to manage groundwater resources in the region. The government has established a framework of 29 water basins for the entire country. For Southern Mongolia, these basins are centered on groundwater, as surface water is of minor importance in the southern part of the country. It is expected that a new institutional structure will be piloted at two locations in Southern Mongolia with jurisdictional responsibilities defined along groundwater boundary basins. Finally, the fourth component is the project management.