Engineering consultants WYG has landed a major contract with the European Investment Bank (EIB) to identify, prepare and implement future infrastructure investment projects.

Operating out of three regional hubs, 10 countries across the Maghreb, Mashrek, and Western Balkans regions will be provided the necessary support throughout the project cycle, from pre-feasibility studies through to supervision of works.

The Technical Assistance (TA) programme awarded to WYG will cover projects in the environment (predominantly water and sanitation), energy, transport, social infrastructure, urban development, and digital economy sectors.  

Entitled Economic Resilience Initiative - Infrastructure Technical Assistance, it is part of the wider Economic Resilience Initiative (ERI), commissioned by the European Council to rapidly mobilise financing to support economic growth, vital infrastructure, and social cohesion in the partner regions.

It is an integrated package of loans, concessional finance, and innovative instruments designed to enable financing of €15bn of investments needed to achieve these long-term aims.

An initial pipeline of 19 infrastructure investment projects has been identified by EIB; five in the Maghreb region, six in the Mashrek region, and eight in the Western Balkans. The projects in the initial pipeline cover all six target sectors and comprise thirteen types of TA support.  

The WYG-led consortium will also engage in close working relationships and active communication and collaboration with stakeholders in all partner countries.  This is in addition to ensuring coherence with other donors and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) active in the regions.

Keith Cook, contract director, said: “Our success is testament to the capability of our delivery teams and comes with an opportunity for project extension and the provision of additional services. We know that excellence in project preparation and implementation is key to the sustained value of infrastructure investment and we look forward to contributing to this exciting initiative which is critical to some of the EU’s most significant challenges”.