ERRD Loan to Help Restructure Kazakh Railway

5 December 2010 (Last Updated December 5th, 2010 18:30)

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a €145m ($200m) loan to freight transport subsidiary of Kazakh Railways, Kaztemirtrans (KTT). The loan will support the state-owned railway to implement the restructuring of freight operations as well as suppor

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide a €145m ($200m) loan to freight transport subsidiary of Kazakh Railways, Kaztemirtrans (KTT).

The loan will support the state-owned railway to implement the restructuring of freight operations as well as support the renewal of KTT's railway wagon fleet by purchasing more than 3,000 freight wagons.

In addition, the project will promote reassessment of the railways regulatory set-up in Kazakhstan, including addressing the need to establish an independent railway sector regulator, according to the ERBD.

It is hoped that the loan will help achieve ambitious reform objectives that the KTZ and the government of Kazakhstan have set for the sector, including the wide-scale restructuring of freight operations and improving sector regulation.