The Eurasian Development Bank plans to invest $8.4 billion in the water, energy and utility infrastructure of its member countries by 2026, said Denis Ilyin, deputy head of the bank, Sputnik reports.
"257 projects worth $13.4 billion have been implemented on the territory of the EDB member countries (Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan). Until 2026, we have to invest another $8.4 billion," Ilyin said at the 46th annual conference of member countries of the Association of Asian and Pacific Development Institutions (ADFIAP).
According to the expert assessment of the EDB, in the countries of Central Asia, economic development is forecast to continue at rates above the world average.
The population of the Central Asian region will increase by 17% by 2030, according to the bank's forecast. It is also planned to increase food production by 45%. Rapid economic development will lead to an increase in water consumption by 10% and an increase in demand for electricity by 34%, Ilyin believes.
Ilyin also mentioned the project to convert Almaty CHPP-3 from coal to gas with a simultaneous increase in its capacity to 500 MW, which will reduce the power shortage in South Kazakhstan and significantly improve the environmental situation in the city.
Demand for water can be met through the introduction of water-saving technologies that can double the efficiency of water use.
In turn, Nikolay Podguzov, Chairman of the Board of the Bank, recalled the main factors hindering the development of the EDB member countries. These are the lack of access to the sea, the low level of development of the financial sector, the mismatch of actions in the water and energy sector and negative climate change.
"Lack of access to the sea holds back the trade and economic potential of Central Asia. Due to high transport costs, the GDP of landlocked countries is growing on average 20% slower than it could," Podguzov said at the forum.
To solve this problem, the head of the bank proposed to expand the transport infrastructure of the region - new rail routes and container traffic can contribute to more efficient integration into global supply chains and reduce transport costs.
For this reason, Central Asia still needs foreign investment in this sector, he added.
A large-scale forum of investors from 40 countries of the world began its work in Almaty on May 15. The event is held as part of the 46th annual meeting of representatives of the member countries of the Association of Development Financial Institutions of Asia and the Pacific (ADFIAP).
The forum is attended by 240 delegates of the largest banks, investment funds and development institutions from China, Turkey, Japan, India, the Philippines, New Zealand, as well as the countries of the European Union, the USA, Latin America, the Middle East. The organizer is EDB.
CentralasianLIGHT.org
May 16, 2023