UNCDF and the City of Chefchaouen Signed a Formal Agreement to Fund Green Public Lighting System
Under the SDG Cities programme and with the help of the International Municipal Investment Fund Technical Assistance Facility (IMIF TAF), UNCDF has created a global financing mechanism to help local governments deal with key urbanisation challenges by giving them access to sustainable sources of capital financing.
The goal of the SDG Cities programme is to use the resources of local governments to get investment from both the public and private sectors. It also wants to help local governments move away from relying solely on grants and toward using a wider range of funding sources to solve local problems.
With this project, the city of Chefchaouen hopes to finish modernising its public lighting network by investing in safety and compliance in electrical cabinets, streetlights, and cables; energy efficiency by switching to low-energy LED lamps and other energy-saving equipment; and priority investments in modern lighting columns and LED lamps along Hassan II Avenue.
The public lighting project in Chefchaouen was chosen after UCLG and UNCDF put out a call for ideas for the IMIF TAF. There was a lot of competition for the ideas.
This initiative is free of charge to the municipality. All reimbursements will come from savings realised by the municipality on public lighting. This group is working together to come up with an innovative solution to be used in more cities at the regional and national levels. Moroccan partners will establish and fund a revolving fund.
This will bring modern solutions for public lighting in most secondary cities in Morocco. The first financing agreement between a municipality and UNCDF is being signed in a ceremony. This is an important step toward the five key elements of the Malaga coalition for a global financial ecosystem that works for cities and local governments, which is a key part of getting the global agenda done.
Emilia Saiz, Secretary General, UCLG, said:
"We are working towards having more financing options and instruments for cities. There is not yet enough financing; it takes time, there is little flexibility, and few cities can put it together."
Source: UNCDF
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