CDIA is guided by its Strategy 2023-2027. While its overarching remit to help cities prepare infrastructure projects and link them with funders remains valid, the current CDIA focuses more on the technical and institutional aspects of project preparation while diversifying into more thematic and cross-cutting project conceptualization and design.

Strategy 2023-2027 sets out how the program will align with the new global agenda for resilient and sustainable development, while tapping into the emerging pipeline of combined public and private capital without losing sight of key gaps in the provision of basic urban services that require continued public investment.

The overall vision of CDIA under the new strategy is “an improved quality of life and sustainability in secondary cities of Asia and the Pacific.” Its mission is to help cities develop bankable infrastructure projects and link them to financing mechanisms, especially public‐private partnerships and blended finance modalities.

Its key guiding principles include identifying bankable and investment-ready projects, responding to secondary cities’ needs, aligning with global agendas, and building on CDIA strengths.

The Trust Fund has identified three pathways to accomplish its goals:

  • Building capacity to help secondary cities make wise investments in line with the new realities of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • Increasing collaborations through networks and partnerships to support longer-term strategic and Paris Agreement-aligned investments; and
  • Assisting cities to combine and structure project financing in such a way as to be attractive for private sector participation and that reflect blended financing modalities that are increasingly becoming the norm.

Over the next five years, CDIA foresees an even stronger demand for the kind of work it does; that is why it will continue to evolve to become more responsive to secondary cities where the need for investments in infrastructure will be very strong. CDIA stands ready to ensure that these investments are going to be bankable and resilient.

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