ASTANA – For the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), 2018 was another successful year in Kazakhstan. The bank allocated $541 million to the country’s economy for 26 projects. It has set ambitious goals for 2019, reinforcing support for the global development programme for the period through 2030 and focusing on renewable energy.
EBRD invested in a wide range of public and private sector projects and supported Kazakhstan’s aspiration to consolidate its position as a regional leader in renewable energy sources, directing funds to a number of green energy projects.
Nomad Solar received a $35-million loan in tenge to construct a 28-megawatt solar power station and the bank granted a $10.4-million loan in the local currency to build a 50-megawatt solar power station in Baikonur. A $22-million loan in tenge will support construction of a 40-megawatt solar power station in the Karaganda region, the first project in Kazakhstan by Chinese company Risen Energy.
EBRD also provided CenterCredit Bank with a $45 million financial package. More than 60 percent of the loan will be used to support lending to micro, small and medium enterprises, especially those run by women, outside of the major cities of Almaty and the capital.
Last year, the bank continued to work towards achieving its climate finance goals, directing 36 percent of its total investment towards green economy. The bank is on track to reach the goal of allocating a 40-percent share of investment in green economy by 2020.
At their annual meeting in Jordan in May, EBRD shareholders asked the bank to achieve greater efficiency in using existing capital to increase investment in existing countries to help achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that the international community pledged to achieve by 2030.
EBRD responded to the request by presenting a plan to exert even greater pressure in its regions. Its President, Sir Suma Chakrabarti, assigned staff to increase the quality and volume of the bank’s investments in the next two years and is confident it will achieve these ambitious goals.
In 2018, the bank overcame significant economic problems in a number of countries to maintain an impressive level of investment and support reforms. It financed 395 projects worth 9.5 billion euros (US$10.8 billion), which is very close to the record 9.7 billion euros (US$11 billion) in 2017. For 2019, EBRD has set goals to support the global development agenda.
