Kambar-Ata-1 hydroelectric power station: three countries can receive $500 million from the EBRD

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is considering the possibility of providing $ 1.5 billion for the implementation of the interstate project for the construction of the Kambar-Ata HPP-1. This, according to Tazabek, was stated by the vice-president of the bank Matteo Patrone, stressing that the financing will be structured as three separate sovereign guaranteed loans of $ 500 million for each of the participating countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

Support for this large-scale energy project is part of the European Union’s Global Gateway strategic initiative aimed at developing infrastructure links around the world. A formal step towards cooperation was the signing of memorandums of understanding between the EBRD and the Ministries of Energy of the three Central Asian republics in early October.

Matteo Patrone noted that the participation of multilateral development banks is a key condition for the implementation of such a large project, the preliminary cost of which is estimated at up to $ 6 billion. The allocation of funds from the EBRD will be possible after the completion of the necessary preparatory work. “We plan to allocate funds in the amount of up to half a billion dollars to each of the participating countries, provided that a full-fledged technical assessment is ready by that time, and there will also be interstate agreements that will allow the project to develop,” the EBRD Vice president said.

The loan amount of $ 500 million for each country was calculated taking into account the economic opportunities of the Kyrgyz Republic, on the territory of which the station will be located. “As for the amount, we started primarily from Kyrgyzstan, because $ 500 million for the economy of Kyrgyzstan is not the same as for Kazakhstan or Uzbekistan, where GDP is much larger. This is, tentatively, the amount that is acceptable for the size of the national economy,” he added. Thus, the total contribution of the EBRD can cover a significant part of the total cost of construction. According to the representative of the bank, the financing will be provided in the form of a loan with a disclosed maturity and a fixed interest rate.

Hydropost

Original (in Russian): ГЭС «Камбар-Ата-1»: три страны могут получить по $500 млн от ЕБРР