OREANDA-NEWS. July 06, 2010. During the meeting of the Interstate Council of the EurAsEC in the city of Astana (the Republic of Kazakhstan) and in the presence of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbaev, State Corporation ‘Bank for Development and Foreign Economic Affairs (Vnesheconombank)’ the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), OJSC INTER RAO EES, JSC Samruk-Energo and JSC Station Ekibastuz GRES-2 signed a Credit Agreement to finance the project aimed at building the third power generating unit of the Ekibastuz Power Station with the installed capacity of up to 540 MW in the Republic of Kazakhstan. The total value of the project is about 800 million US dollars.

Under the Agreement Vnesheconombank’s participation in financing the project is to extend a long-term (for a period of 15 years) credit line worth 12 billion rubles, which will be used to pay for the supply of equipment and offer services to only Russian companies (OJS Silovye Machiny, OJSC MZ ZIO-Podolsk and etc). Thus, the funds to be made available by the Bank as part of supporting the export of Russian high-technology equipment and engineering services will be a serious infusion of funds in the Russian real economy.

The Eurasian Development Bank on a parity basis with Vnesheconombank is also to extend a 15-year credit for a total amount of 385 million US dollars. The project is in line the EDB’s mission and increases mutual trade and mutual investments. The power station is owned on a parity basis by Russian and Kazakh shareholders (OJSC INTER RAO EES and JSC Samruk-Kazyna), a significant part of electric power generated by the power station is exported to the unified energy system of the Russian Federation.

The project to build the third power generating unit of the Ekibastuz Power Station is being implemented under the agreement dated September 11, 2009 between the Russian Government and the Kazakh Government on building and subsequent operation of the third power generating unit of the Ekibastuz Power Station.

The Ekibastuz Power Station’s annual output after the project’s completion is scheduled to increase by 50% and amount to 10 billion kWhs. This will make it possible to significantly reduce power shortages and increase electric power imports from Kazakhstan to Russia.

The parties believe that the implementation of the project to expand the Ekibastuz Power Station would help to restore the unity of Russia’s and Kazakhstan’s energy systems, promote the development of integration trends in the former Soviet republics and enhance cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The Ekibastuz Power Station GRES-2 generates about 12% of all electric power produced in the Republic of Kazakhstan; the two power generating units’ installed energy capacity is 1000 MW.