BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 9. Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Kazakhstan's Samruk-Kazyna National Welfare Fund signed a credit agreement worth 98 billion Kazakh tenge ($219.6 million) to support the conversion of Almaty's Thermal Power Plant-2 from coal to gas, Trend reports.
The signing took place with the participation of the Head of Samruk-Kazyna Nurlan Zhakupov and ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. The loan agreement was concluded under the guarantee of the Fund, which helps to minimize risks and improve credit conditions.
ADB becomes the third bank in the investor consortium to fund the transition of the Thermal Power Plant-2 from coal to gas, joining the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan. All of them are concluded under the guarantee of Samruk-Kazyna. With full financial support secured, the construction of a new gas-fired TTP adjacent to the existing coal-based facility is set to commence later this year.
Meanwhile, ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa has arrived on his first visit to Kazakhstan. He participated in the Astana International Forum (AIF 2023) and signed numerous agreements with local enterprises as well as with the Kazakh government.