OREANDA-NEWS. The EBRD has provided new lending to Kyrgyz Investment and Credit Bank (KICB), one of its partner banks in the Kyrgyz Republic, to increase financing for energy efficiency projects.

KICB will receive a loan of USD 2 million. The funds will be used for on-lending to businesses and households wishing to make energy efficiency improvements, for example buy more efficient equipment or install insulation. This will be the third such cooperation between the EBRD and KICB.

The framework under which the loan is being made, Kyrgyz Sustainable Energy Financing Facility, is one of the EBRD's range of instruments to finance energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy projects in the region. KyrSEFF offers credit lines and technical assistance to local banks, to enable them to finance small-scale sustainable energy projects. KyrSEFF is supported by the European Union's Investment Facility for Central Asia (IFCA).

KyrSEFF is a USD 20 million facility which is part of the EBRD's wider Sustainable Energy Financing Facility. KyrSEFF financing includes grants covering from 10 to 35 per cent of the project cost provided by the European Union's Investment Facility for Central Asia (IFCA).

KICB was one of the banks honoured at the first KyrSEFF awards in the country help by the EBRD in partnership with the EU in November 2014.

To date, the EBRD has invested over EUR 510 million in 117 projects in the Kyrgyz Republic.