Question:

What are the NDEP's criteria for financing projects?

Answer:

NDEP provides co-financing for prioritized environmental investment projects in north-west of Russia and northern Belarus.

Decisions are made by the NDEP Steering Group subject to fulfilling the following criteria:

• urgent need for environmental infrastructure improvements due to their detrimental impacts on health and the environment, as well as their cross-border effects;

• the NDEP grants can only be used in conjunction with IFI loans and provide leverage to other bilateral and national sources of financing;

• the creditworthiness of the applicant as defined by the lead IFI to ensure a bankable financing structure

• clearly demonstrated support by regional and municipal authorities to the proposed investment.

As a general rule all projects must be in line with and support the policies and programmes pursued by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. Any proposed project should have the explicit approval of the national government.

NDEP nuclear safety projects are different in the sense that they are fully financed by NDEP grants and designed exclusively for north-west Russia.

Question:

Which procurement rules are applied in NDEP projects?

Answer:

The implementing agencies, i.e. the IFIs, will follow their own procurement guidelines, which as a rule include international tendering. In the NDEP funded part of the project, procurement shall be limited to goods and services produced in or supplied from the countries of the Contributors (currently members of the EU, Canada and Norway) or the EBRD’s countries of operations (visit www.ebrd.com to view the full list).

Question:

How can I get information on NDEP procurement opportunities?

Answer:

Each implementing agency usually publishes information on procurement opportunities (see EBRD example). In specific NDEP projects, each leading bank has indicated the contact person, who can provide information on procurement arrangements (see Project info section). Also please check News articles on the NDEP website.

Question:

How long will NDEP operate?

Answer:

The NDEP Support Fund was initially meant to operate for a period of five years until November 2007. However with the growing project pipeline and long term commitments in both NDEP windows, the Assembly of Contributors decided to extend the operation of the Fund until November 2017.