BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 10. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is rolling out its Green Cities program in Kazakhstan by financing street lighting improvements in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, Trend reports via the bank.
"A senior 10-year loan of 4.1 billion Kazakh tenge (8.5 million euros) will be provided to the Regional Center of Public-Private Partnership of the East Kazakhstan region, which is responsible for the preparation of public-private partnerships in the region," the bank said.
This will allow the upgrade of the street lighting system in Ust-Kamenogorsk to be completed and an additional 6,000 energy-efficient LED street lights along 150 city streets to be installed, the EBRD noted.
"The city of Ust-Kamenogorsk and the Bank have been working on upgrading the city’s street lighting since 2017. Joint efforts have already allowed over 22,000 spotlights to be replaced, more than 400 electric cabinets to be installed and over 340 km of electric cables to be laid. These improvements have contributed to electricity savings, a more efficient operating company and a significant reduction in traffic accidents and crime in the city," the EBRD said.
At the same time, technical assistance for the project preparation was provided by the TaiwanBusiness-EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund, the bank added.
Meanwhile, EBRD's annual disbursements in the country reached $600 million (over 550 million euros) making it one the most effective operations in the Bank.
The current EBRD portfolio in Kazakhstan as of January 1,2023, amounted to 2.91 billion euros. The portfolio is designed for the implementation of 122 ongoing projects.
