Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) continues supporting the private sector in Kazakhstan by providing a financing package equivalent to $30 million for Eastcomtrans LLP, one of the largest private railway operators in the country.

An agreement signed in Almaty said the loan will be used to purchase up to 500 gondolas (open-top style rolling stock) or other assets used to transport general cargo. Part of the financing will be used for balance sheet restructuring.

The funding will be provided in Kazakhstan’s national currency tenge.

The EBRD funding will support a private company operating in a sector where the state still dominates. Balancing the role of the state and the market is one of the EBRD’s priorities in its current country strategy for Kazakhstan. Work continues on a second part of the financing package, which will see the EBRD lend a further $25 million to Eastcomtrans.

“We are pleased to arrange this financing for Eastcomtrans and to increase our support of the private sector’s role in Kazakhstan’s infrastructure, which is one of our priorities in the country. This financing was organised in a difficult economic setting with limited access to international funding available to the company. The loan demonstrates our commitment to Kazakhstan, where this year we are on track to have record investment totaling $750 million,” Thomas Maier, the EBRD Managing Director, Infrastructure, said.

To date, the EBRD has invested over $5.7 billion in the Kazakh economy, with over half of this financing supporting private-sector development.