BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 11
By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend:
Asian Development Bank (ADB) is discussing with Turkmenistan to expand its sector coverage to include small and medium enterprise (SME) financing through local banks, training of nurses and paramedical workers, and railway development, ADB told Trend.
ADB’s plans to expand the mentioned sector are aside from implementing the ongoing power grid strengthening project and preparing the TAPI Gas Pipeline Project.
Speaking about the Tajikistan-Afghanistan-Turkmenistan railway (TAT) project ADB noted that the bank has yet to extend any investments specifically for the TAT.
"ADB continues to be actively engaged in discussions with all of its developing member countries on their priority projects including for railways, and remains open to providing support for those projects which are economically viable and financially sustainable," said ADB.
As earlier ADB told Trend, Asian Development Bank (ADB) made good progress in implementing the National Power Grid Strengthening Project and launched preparatory work for the TAPI Gas Pipeline Project in Turkmenistan in 2020.
ADB's COBP from 2020 through 2022 for Turkmenistan is, by and large, aligned with its country partnership strategy (CPS) from 2017 through 2021.
COBP provides for three major avenues of support: hydrocarbon market diversification and energy trade promotion; diversification of the non-hydrocarbon sectors through transport infrastructure investment to improve market connectivity and private sector development; and knowledge work on economic diversification and reforms, as derived from the government’s development objectives.
The National Power Grid Strengthening Project will build about 1,100 kilometers of new 110-kilovolt, 220 kV, and 500 kV transmission lines; construct four new substations, and expand three existing substations.
"The project will cover four of the five regions of Turkmenistan, and will help establish an interconnected national transmission grid to improve reliability and energy efficiency of the network."
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva