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Supporting the Kyrgyz construction sector
EBRD DLF loans under ETCI to local quarry and housing development
The EBRD is providing an $800.000 loan to Granit Yug, a privately owned quarry in the Djalal Abad region in the south west of the Kyrgyz Republic, for the purchase of processing and polishing equipment. This Project will be the first modern production of such limestone tiles in the south of the country.
Due to the availability of high quality stone reserves, Granit Yug is well placed to grow dynamically in the future. “The EBRD’s loan will support the sustainable development of the company”, said Kenji Nakazawa, the EBRD head of office in the Kyrgyz Republic. “The project will have an important impact in the region through skills transfers and the setting of standards of business conduct as well as health and safety regulations”, he added.
A second project which the EBRD is also supporting may well benefit from travertine quarried by Granit Yug:. The Bank is providing $3 million to Global Construction LLC, a Kyrgyz private company which is developing the “Bravo” compound in the country’s capital Bishkek.
The construction of 34 houses of international standards will help meet the growing demand for quality housing, especially in Bishkek. The project will also trigger long term development in the construction sector by increasing demand for construction works and materials and will have linkages to the EBRD’s Microfinance Facility with local banks. The introduction of a new management information and quality system with annual IFRS audit will enhance transparency and set a demonstrable example of good corporate governance.
The EBRD earlier has signed two other projects in the Kyrgyz Republic under the Direct Lending Facility, which provides smaller loans to local private companies in the Bank´s Early Transition Countries Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyz Republic, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, which meet established investment criteria.
The Early Transition Countries Initiative follows a streamlined approach to financing medium-scale private sector enterprises. The programme recently topped the 100 marker. The initiative is supported by a multi-donors fund which to-date has received almost €50 million from 12 donor governments. The fund which exists alongside bilateral support funds provides financing for project preparation and implementation.
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