Innovative Financing Mechanisms for the Water Sector (ENV/EPOC/GSP (2009)11 Final

This paper discusses innovative mechanisms for financing water sector project that in all likelihood are also relevant to small scale build-outs of Last Mile fiber infrastructure in rural areas. It discusses potential mechanisms at the national level to finance smaller scale local projects as well as means of aggregating similar projects for financing through upstream financial distribution channels. Some of these techniques are currently being explored through public-private partnerships in rural New Hampshire. The OECD paper discusses ways that grant funding can be linked with private financing and that private financing can be incentivized through loan guarantees. The use of leasing versus traditional bonding is another topic worth further exploration and is likely to be utilized in financing broadband build outs in central Vermont in the United States.