Akim of region Serik Shapkenov received representatives of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The meeting was attended by EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia Zhuzhanna Hargitai, EBRD Head for Kazakhstan Özhan Hüseyin, Deputy Director of the Infrastructure Department Bakhtiyor Faiziev, Senior Project Specialist Arman Ishmukhamedov and heads of departments.

The parties discussed issues of financing for the implementation of investment projects in the Atyrau region, the Press Service of the akim of the region reports.

Serik Shapkenov noted that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been an important partner of our country for 30 years, and this relationship is successful for both sides.

“The EBRD is a reliable partner for our country. I am familiar with the projects implemented by your bank. We are ready to work with you in any direction. In general, the city has a large fund of the private residential sector. 80 percent of the houses are not connected to the central sewerage. Thus, it is possible to develop a unified program for connecting the city and each district to large backbone networks. There is also an opportunity to implement joint projects in the field of fisheries and agriculture,” S. Shapkenov said.

In turn, EBRD Managing Director for Central Asia Zhuzhanna Hargitai expressed her readiness to finance various investment projects aimed at improving the welfare of the population.

“This is our first trip to the Atyrau region. As you know, at present our main client in Atyrau is the Atyrau refinery. The company was given funds from the bank for the reconstruction of sewage treatment facilities. I also want to talk about the development of small and medium-sized businesses. What directions do you propose in this area to improve the quality of life of residents? I would also like to discuss issues related to the housing and communal services sector, that is, the implementation of projects for the treatment of household waste, the construction of a sewerage and exhaust station, or other activities. We are ready to invest in these and other projects proposed by you,” Zh. Hargitai said.

At the end of 2022, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development of the Region supported 2,647 projects in the amount of loans in the amount of 54.4 billion tenge.

As part of the financial support for entrepreneurs in 2023, it is planned to allocate 10.5 billion tenge to representatives of small and medium-sized businesses from the EBRD budget and finance about 2,500 projects.