Translated with AI
In 2024, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Tajikistan signed 19 transactions totaling almost $103 million, according to the EBRD press service.
According to the Bank, 83% of loans were allocated to support sustainable infrastructure projects. Nearly 14% of loans were provided to local banks for on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, women, and young entrepreneurs, as well as for climate resilience and resource efficiency projects.
Public sector investments accounted for 83% of the EBRD's annual activity in Tajikistan. Nearly 58% of the Bank's loans were used to promote green economy projects.
The EBRD Board of Directors approved a new strategy for Tajikistan, which sets out the Bank's priorities for its activities in the country until 2030. The new strategy reflects the EBRD's commitment to supporting Tajikistan's economic transformation through a comprehensive approach combining financial investment, policy dialogue, and technical assistance.
Key projects in 2024 include a financing package of up to €43 million for the state-owned energy company Shabakahoi Taqsimoti Barq, responsible for electricity distribution in the country. The package includes an EBRD sovereign loan of up to €28 million and a €15 million European Union investment grant under the EU's Asia-Pacific Investment Facility. The financing is aimed at modernizing the company's electricity billing and metering infrastructure in nine cities in the Khatlon and Sughd regions.
A sovereign loan of up to €38 million and an Asian Development Bank grant of up to US$86.7 million (€83.5 million) are also being used to modernize and expand the road from Dangara to Guliston. This road is a vital link between the north and south of the Khatlon region, a region that produces over 53% of Tajikistan's agricultural output and is home to 35% of the country's population.
The launch of all six hydroelectric units at the Kairokkum hydroelectric power plant (HPP) marked the completion of a major renewable energy project in Tajikistan. The plant's installed capacity, which provides electricity to 500,000 people in the Sughd region, increased from 126 MW to 174 MW. The modernization, which began in 2019, was supported by a US$196 million financing package arranged by the EBRD.
In addition, three sovereign loans totaling over €12 million (US$14 million) were provided. These funds are used to modernize water supply systems in the cities of Kulob and Yovon in the Khatlon region, as well as to implement a project to modernize the district heating system in Dushanbe.
In 2024, the EBRD supported over 500 small and medium-sized enterprises in Tajikistan, providing them with business advice, training, mentoring, and other business development opportunities. Six risk-sharing agreements were also signed, under which the Bank assumed half the risk on loans provided by partner banks, to expand the development opportunities of domestic enterprises. Tajik food producer Oilai Barakat joined the EBRD's Blue Ribbon programme for high-growth, high-potential small and medium-sized enterprises.
