Projects in Tajikistan

Project Summary Documents

Project Summary Documents (PSDs) are disclosed for each project prior to Board consideration. They contain project descriptions, financial details, client information, environmental issues, tender guidelines, and contact details. PSDs for private sector projects are disclosed at least 30 days prior to Board consideration and for state sector projects, at least 60 days.

Project Summary Documents 

Signed projects

Board approval is the final stage in the project approval process. After Board approval, the EBRD and the client sign the deal and it becomes legally binding. Signed project lists reflect year-end data.

Signed projects  (0.1Mb) 

Case studies

Air industry investments boost Tajik economy

Making sure migrant workers have safe, reliable air service so they can reach jobs in Russia is a priority for the EBRD, donors and the government. The country depends on it: Remittances sent by migrant workers to their families back home, account for an estimated 25 per cent of the Tajik GDP, the poorest state to emerge out of the former Soviet Union.

The EBRD with the support of Japanese and Dutch donors have been working with the Tajik government since 1995 to improve the country’s air services. These include:

• US$ 4 million in EBRD loans and US$ 2 million grant from the Japan Fund for Post-Conflict Support to improve air traffic control and air navigation systems in the two airports of the country currently under finalisation;

• a US$ 1.8 million EBRD loan and US$ 2.5 million grant from the Japan Fund in 1999 for repairs to the Khujand runway;

• a US$ 4 million grant from the Netherlands for runway repairs in Dushanbe in 1997;

• and in late 2004 the EBRD Board approved a loan of US$ 5 million for Tajik State Air to cover expenses related to the airline’s plan to lease two or more relatively new western type airplanes.

Tajikistan Micro and Small Finance Facility (TMSEF)

The EBRD is providing access to finance to Tajik micro and small borrowers (MSE) since October 2003. The MSEs are recognised as a strong factor of job creation, poverty alleviation and grass-root economic development. As of April 2005, over 3500 micro loans, ranging from US$ 50 to US$ 20,000 for US$ 9 millions were financed by the TMSEF trough four Tajik participating banks (Tajik Soderat Bank, Eskhata Bank, TajPromBank, AgroInvestBank).

TMSEF, co-financed by the IFC and the Swiss SECO, is the fourth project of this kind in the Central Asia and like the KSBP (Kazakhstan), KMSEF (Kyrgyzstan) and J-USBP (Uzbekistan) it focuses on delivery sustainable and efficient financing to MSEs through local commercial banks along a strong capacity building technical assistance in the partner banks.

The technical assistance is financed by British DFID and USAID to support the partner banks in training loan officers, setting-up the new MSE units, building up MSE loan portfolios, streamlining lending procedures and developing necessary skills and capacity to provide creditworthy MSEs with swift and adequate access to finance.

Telecommunications: Tajiktelecom

Making a phone call in Tajikistan will become a much simpler task as a result of an EBRD investment in the country's telecommunications system. Currently, fewer than four in every 100 Tajiks has a telephone, and the system is difficult to maintain. In October 2001 a €14 million loan to Tajiktelecom, the national fixed-line operator, will finance the modernisation of the country's fixed-line network. Switzerland is co-financing the project with a €2.2 million grant. At the same time, technical assistance in the form of grants from Japan is being provided to develop the sector's legal and regulatory framework.

The EBRD loan is supported by a sovereign guarantee from the Republic of Tajikistan and will be used to make urgent investments in new digital infrastructure, equipment for the widespread application of per-minute call charging, new international connections and improvements in power supply arrangements in rural areas. These investments will bring an improvement in the quality of service and will increase access to services for both business and the general population. The Regulatory Development Programme has made significant progress in developing a modern legal and regulatory framework.