WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 11--The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has established two new departments in response to the rising demand for private infrastructure financing. Two new directors have been appointed.
The new appointments are Mr. Rauf Diwan, who will head the newly created Power Department as Director, and Mr. Declan Duff, who will head the newly created Department of Telecommunications, Transportation, and Utilities as Director. Both these departments will have global responsibilities and will replace the Infrastructure Department, which was established in 1992.
Mr. Diwan, a Pakistani national, joined IFC's Asia Department in 1977. In 1988, he left IFC to join the private sector. He returned to IFC in 1992 to join the new Power Division of the Infrastructure Department. In 1994, he was promoted to Manager, East Asia Division in the Asia Department and, in 1996, he was appointed Manager, Power Division in the Infrastructure Department.
Mr. Declan Duff, a British national, worked fifteen years in finance in Europe and the U.S. before joining IFC's Asia Department in 1986. In 1989, he transferred to the department dealing with privatization services. In 1990, he was promoted to Manager, Asia Department. When the Infrastructure Department was formed in 1992, he was appointed Manager, Transport and Utilities.
Since late 1992, IFC has approved financing for more than a hundred investments, mobilizing $5.7 billion for infrastructure investments in developing countries. This includes $2.5 billion in financing for power investments, $1.3 billion for telecommunications, $1.0 billion for transport projects, and more than $500 million for water and utilities. Many of these financings were pioneers in their sectors. In addition, IFC has contributed more than $300 million to funds that invest in infrastructure projects in developing countries.
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral source of equity and loan financing for private sector projects in developing countries.
