Financing of Sustainable Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure report available

Central Dredging Association (CEDA), the International Association of Dredging Companies (IADC) and Vital Ports recently presented “Financing of Sustainable Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure” report.

Together with B Capital Partners and Swiss Re, they explored what is needed in order to improve the connection between green-labelled funds and sustainable waterborne infrastructure projects.

Against the backdrop of climate change, energy transition and loss of biodiversity, together with the fact that there are limited public budgets, means there is a bigger role available for private capital to play in bridging the infrastructure funding gap. The report is based on the findings of the mutual work group by discussing nine case studies.

The main conclusion is that sustainable waterborne infrastructure solutions are available, have been tested and are economically viable. Private capital could help to accelerate the uptake of such solutions.

“Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure is the collection of waterborne works at coastlines, estuaries, rivers, canals and in port areas. In general, such works provide flood protection or enable port development, urban development and navigability of waterways. In other cases these works serve to protect or restore nature and recreational areas,” said Arjan Hijdra, Managing Director of Vital Ports and one of authors to the report.

“Both the Sustainable Marine and Freshwater Infrastructure sector and the Financial sector seek to scale up their green portfolio and it is quite obvious that synergy can be found in cooperation. However, both sectors are mutually unfamiliar with each other’s environment which hinders to capture this synergy right away. We believe that this dedicated report could help further engagement between these two sectors.”

The report was presented to the dredging community at the virtual CEDA Dredging Days 2021, on 29 September.