EBRD finances tramway system of Kazakh city
The EBRD is helping Pavlodar, a major city in the north-east of Kazakhstan, to modernise the tramway system that is crucial for public transportation in the city.
Pavlodar, one of the oldest cities of Kazakhstan, is home to over 330,000 people and most of them use trams as their main means of transport.
The EBRD-supported project will modernise a third of the tram fleet by purchasing 25 new tram cars, fix rail junctions and upgrade other related infrastructure.
The EBRD will lend up to 2.5 billion tenge (€10 million equivalent) to the municipal tram system operator, JSC Pavlodar Tram Management Company, which will also receive a capital grant from the government of Kazakhstan of up to 910 million tenge (€3.71 million equivalent).
Additional support to the project will be provided by the regional government (Akimat).
Support from the EBRD and the government will be provided under the Enhanced Partnership established by the two parties in May 2014.
The Partnership allows the EBRD and Kazakhstan to team up to support projects that directly improve people’s lives such as public transport and utilities.
Signing the loan agreement on the fringes of the Astana Economic Forum, EBRD Managing Director Natalia Khanzhenkova said: “We are proud to support the modernisation of tram infrastructure and the purchase of new tram cars in Pavlodar. The modernisation programme will include not only physical upgrades but also introduction of a Public Service Contract, a mechanism to boost performance, cost effectiveness and transparency”.
The EBRD has made a priority of introducing PSCs into its projects with public utilities as a way of improving the quality of the services they provide and enhancing also their commercial viability.
Since the beginning of its operations in Kazakhstan 22 years ago, the EBRD has invested over US$ 7 billion in the country’s economy.
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