ASTANA – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) will invest $1.15 billion in Kazakhstan, marking the largest project in the bank’s 51-year history, as was reported during a Nov. 12 meeting between President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and IsDB President Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, according to Akorda.
Muhammad Sulaiman Al Jasser, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and Nurlan Baibazarov. Photo credit: Akorda
The corresponding agreement was signed at the 29th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Baku. The IsDB will also grant $3.5 million to develop Kazakhstan’s water sector.
The project’s first phase involves constructing four new reservoirs, reconstructing four existing ones, and repairing 115 canals totaling 3,450 kilometers, including the Astana counter-regulator, in seven regions of Kazakhstan. This will ensure sustainable irrigation for over 332,000 hectares of agricultural land.
According to Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Economy Nurlan Baibazarov, the project envisages technical cooperation between the IsDB and the Kazakh Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation in studying water and river basin management by the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute of Water Economy.
This cooperation will also include an assessment of the implementation of early response systems for the Information and Analytical Center for Water Resources.
The project envisages providing Kazvodkhoz national water operator with technical upgrades and building an automation center to improve water resources management.
“Financing by such an authoritative institution as the IsDB demonstrates the high level of trust in our country, the investment policy we have built, and the socio-economic reforms we are implementing,” Baibazarov said.
