OREANDA-NEWS. March 12, 2010. The EBRD is supporting the rehabilitation of the water and wastewater system in the city of Aktau, in the Mangystau region of Kazakhstan, with a loan in Kazakhstan Tenge (KZT) equivalent to EUR5.8 million (KZT 1.2 billion) to Aktau TVS&V, the municipal water and district heating company serving the city, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

Located in the Mangystau region, Aktau is one of the fastest growing cities in Kazakhstan and the centre of the country’s and gas industry. It has a population of about 160,000 and is the country’s only seaport on the Caspian Sea. The development of the region is currently constrained by the lack of quality water, resulting from years of underinvestment in municipal infrastructure.

The proceeds of the EBRD loan will be used to finance TVS&V’s priority investment programme, which includes rehabilitation of the most deteriorated parts of the water distribution network, upgrade of wastewater pump stations and modernisation of maintenance equipment for the water and wastewater network.

The financing will enable the local authorities to improve the quality of supplied water in Aktau, reduce water loss and leakages and improve the overall efficiency of operations.

With total cost of over KZT 2.5 billion, the project will be co-financed by the local authorities, as well as grant financing for technical assistance provided by the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic and the EBRD Shareholders’ Special Fund.

“This project is a significant step towards raising the quality of water in Aktau, which will allow further dynamic growth of the city and the Mangystau region. The EBRD loan will help TVS&V adopt a sound business model, which will improve the efficiency of its operations, and will have a strong demonstration effect for other cities and regions on Kazakhstan”, said Michael Weinstein, EBRD Director for Kazakhstan.

“The cooperation with such IFIs as EBRD will ensure transparency and high standards of the project implementation. The project will help TVS&V to develop a corporate development programme and improve its business standards” said Krymbek Kusherbaev, Akim of the Mangystau Oblast.

Since the beginning of its operations, the Bank has committed over EUR 2.4 billion in various sectors of the country’s economy, which mobilised additional investment worth more than EUR 5 billion.