Taking note of the draft guidelines for the closure of project preparation accounts (UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/32/8) and having considered the recommendation of the Sub-Committee on Monitoring, Evaluation and Finance (UNEP/OzL.Pro/ExCom/32/3, para. 13), the Executive Committee decided to adopt the following guidelines:
(a) Project preparation activities approved at the first or second Executive Committee meeting in a particular year should be completed within 12 months and financially completed (closed) by 31 December of the first year following approval, at the latest, to allow sufficient time for closure of financial accounts and payments of all outstanding obligations (for example, a project approved in July 2000 would be completed by August 2001 and financially completed by 31 December 2001);
(b) Project preparation activities approved at the last Executive Committee meeting in a particular year should be financially completed (closed) by 31 December of the second year following approval (for example, a project approved in November 2000 would be completed by December 2001 and financially completed by December 2002);
(c) Project preparation with durations that exceed 12 months should be accompanied by an explanation of the reason for the longer duration;
(d) That it be recognized that, in certain cases, such as the preparation of umbrella projects, sector plans, RMPs and terminal phase-out projects, project preparation might take longer.