Washington DC, - The International Finance Corporation (IFC) today launched two new Lessons of Experience publications on "The BTC Pipeline Project" and "External Monitoring of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project." The publications provide key environmental and social lessons and good practices for the benefit of staff, clients, and the wider private sector.

The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline Project:

The BTC pipeline is 1,760km long and runs from Azerbaijan through Georgia to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. At the time of its commencement, BTC was the largest cross-border infrastructure construction project in the world. The project faced a wide variety of complex and often difficult environmental and social challenges. Financing was agreed in February 2004 after more than two years of appraisal of the potential environmental and social impacts. Construction was completed in late 2005 and export from the new terminal in Ceyhan commenced in June 2006.

For IFC as a lender, the process of capturing lessons of experience from projects is an important one. In the "BTC Pipeline Project: Lessons of Experience," IFC environmental and social staff look back on an extremely challenging process and endeavor to extract some of the key operational lessons and good practices for the benefit of colleagues, clients, and the wider institution. While it is impossible to capture all the challenges and complexities encountered during the design and construction phase of the BTC project, this publication focuses on six thematic areas where environmental and social lessons learned were thought to be most valuable and applicable to other IFC-financed projects.

External Monitoring of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project

The Chad-Cameroon pipeline project is a US$3.5 billion development of an oil field in Chad by a consortium headed by ExxonMobil, and a 1,070 km long pipeline extending through Chad and Cameroon to the Atlantic coast. The External Compliance Monitoring Group (ECMG), funded and logistically supported by the Consortium, serves as the team responsible for auditing the implementation of the Consortium's environmental and social commitments for this project.

"External Monitoring of the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project: Lessons of Experience" provides lenders and project sponsors with an understanding of the business case for employing an external monitor, as well practical advice regarding the major steps and key issues for designing, implementing, and operating an external monitoring mechanism for complex projects. To highlight the practical challenges and value of the external monitoring mechanism, the publication draws illustrative examples from the experiences of IFC during the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project.

PDF files can be downloaded at: http://www.ifc.org/enviropublications

Please send any comments to: enviro@ifc.org

International Finance Corporation

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, is the largest multilateral provider of financing for private enterprise in developing countries. IFC finances private sector investments, mobilizes capital in international financial markets, facilitates trade, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to businesses and governments. From its founding in 1956 through FY06, IFC has committed more than $56 billion of its own funds for private sector investments in the developing world and mobilized an additional $25 billion in syndications for 3,531 companies in 140 developing countries. With the support of funding from donors, it has also provided more than $1 billion in technical assistance and advisory services.

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