OREANDA-NEWS. December 25, 2013. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting regional development in Kazakhstan with a new project to improve public transport in a provincial centre.

The loan of up to USD 18.8 million to Avtobusnyi Park Kyzylorda, a municipal public transport company in the city of Kyzylorda, wholly owned by JSC “NK “SPK “Baikonur”, a development corporation wholly owned by the Akimat of the Kyzylorda region. The loan is provided for purchasing of up to 100 “green” buses that run on CNG (compressed natural gas), the depot workshop equipment and GPS dispatching system.

The city of Kyzylorda is the centre of Kyzylorda Oblast located in the south of the country. This investment reflects several of the EBRD’s priorities: to support regional development in Kazakhstan outside of the major cities of Astana and Almaty, to introduce efficient urban transport management system and to achieve the green economy goals set by the country.

Mr Krymbek Kusherbayev, the Akim of Kyzylorda Oblast, said: “Our citizens deserve better urban transport services. Today the local authorities and SPK “Baikonur” are pleased to receive EBRD support in establishing CNG bus fleet and the depot in Kyzylorda. Around one fifth of the City public transport fleet will be replaced with new modern comfortable buses to service up to 40 per cent of passengers. This project is also Kyzylorda Oblast’s contribution into the development of “green” economy, especially ahead of Kazakhstan EXPO-2017. We are looking forward to working together with the EBRD on more projects in the region.”

“The EBRD’s investment will enable Kyzylorda not only to buy modern energy efficient CNG buses which will make the air in the streets much cleaner, but also to consolidate different bus operators into an integrated public transport system, to establish a proper bus depot and to develop a modern bus ticketing system. We are very satisfied with our cooperation with Kyzylorda Oblast, “SPK “Baikonur” and the City authorities and hope other cities in Kazakhstan will see the benefit of these improvements and follow in the city’s footsteps”, said Janet Heckman, EBRD Director for Kazakhstan.

The CNG bus purchase programme in Kyzylorda follows a successful and ongoing cooperation between the EBRD and the municipality of Almaty where the Bank has supported several projects involving CNG buses and energy efficient trolleybuses.