OREANDA-NEWS. 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.

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.

To date, the EBRD has invested about EUR 5 billion (USD 6.6 billion) across more than 160 different projects in Kazakhstan, mobilising an additional EUR 7 billion (USD 9.3 billion) for these projects from other sources of financing.