Baku, Azerbaijan, June 4
By Elena Kosolapova - Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will lend up to 2 billion tenge (185.95 tenge = $1) for modernising the water and wastewater services in Kazakh city of Aktobe, the bank reported.
The lending will be provided to city's municipal water and wastewater company, Akbulak. The company will also receive a capital grant of up to 1.4 billion tenge from the state budget and co-financing of up to 350 million tenge from the local regional government.
The capital grant will be provided under the Enhanced Partnership Agreement between the EBRD and the government of Kazakhstan, signed in May 2014, which sets out a programme of joint investment of EBRD and government funds into projects that improve people's lives. Technical assistance is also expected to be funded by the government of Kazakhstan under the Enhanced Partnership.
In addition to improvements in the quality of water and wastewater services in Aktobe, the municipal company Akbulak will also increase efficiency and reduce water losses. The company will introduce a Public Service Contract which will help boost the operational efficiency.
The EBRD and Kazakhstan are working on several other joint projects under the Water and Wastewater Infrastructure Modernisation Framework under the Enhanced Partnership umbrella.
Since the beginning of its operations in Kazakhstan 22 years ago, the EBRD has invested over $7 billion in the country's economy.
Edited by S.I.
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