Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Summary of Proposed Investment (SPI)?
An SPI summarizes the main elements of a project, including information on sponsors, shareholders, project cost, purpose of the project and environmental issues. The SPI is disclosed to the public on this IFC Web site and in the World Bank InfoShop no later than 30 days before the project is to be considered by the IFC Board of Directors. More information about SPIs and their disclosure is available in the IFC's Policy on Disclosure of Information.
For which projects does the IFC disclose environmental documents?
For Category B projects, the IFC prepares a summary of the key findings of the environmental review in an Environmental Review Summary (ERS), including measures to mitigate, monitor and manage environmental and social issues. The ERS is disclosed to the public locally, on this IFC Web site and in the World Bank InfoShop no later than 30 days before the project is to be considered by the IFC Board of Directors.
For Category A projects, the project sponsor prepares an extensive environmental report, normally an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), including an evaluation of the possible environmental and social impacts of a project, measures designed to manage, mitigate and monitor those impacts and details of public consultations. No later than 60 days before the project is to be considered by the IFC Board of Directors, the EIA is disclosed locally and in the World Bank InfoShop. The disclosure is announced on this IFC Web site.
More information on environmental documents and their disclosure is available in the IFC's Policy on Disclosure of Information and in the IFC's Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects.
What is a Category A project?
A project is classified as Category A if it is likely to have significant adverse environmental impacts that are sensitive, diverse or unprecedented.
What is a Category B project?
A project is classified as Category B if its potential environmental impacts are less adverse than those of Category A projects. These impacts are site-specific, few if any of them are irreversible, and in most cases mitigatory measures can be designed more readily than for Category A projects.
What is a Category C project?
A project is classified as Category C if it is likely to have minimal or no adverse environmental impacts.
What is a Category FI project?
A project is classified as Category FI if it involves investment of IFC funds, through a financial intermediary, in subprojects that may have adverse environmental impacts. In some capital markets projects where IFC funds are not targeted to specific subprojects, but the financial institution has operations, which may have adverse environmental impacts, the project may also be classified as Category FI.
More information about IFC's environmental classification of projects is available in the IFC's Procedure for Environmental and Social Review of Projects and in the IFC IFC Operational Policy (OP) 4.01, Environmental Assessment.
How do I get involved in procurement or bid for contracts in IFC financed projects?
The IFC is involved only in the financing of projects, and has no part in the procurement process for any of these projects. The local project company is responsible for all aspects of procurement, such as evaluation of bids and contract awards, and is the contact point for any information regarding the bidding process. The project company for each project is identified in the Summary of Proposed Investment (SPI).
Information about World Bank Group procurement is available at http://www.worldbank.org/business/procureinfo.htm.
