The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a transaction advisory services agreement with the Kazakh government for its Hydropower Development Program, which aims to attract the private sector to design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain the country’s hydropower projects. According to the agreement, ADB will work with Kazakhstan's Energy Ministry to conduct pre-feasibility studies, prepare auction documents and a template power purchasing agreement, and attract competitive offers to crowd investors. ADB will help the ministry prepare and auction hydropower projects with private sector participation in the southeast, with a potential cumulative capacity of around 600 megawatts across the Alakol, Balkhash, and Irtysh/Zaysan basins. The agreement was signed on July 26 in London by Kazakhstan’s minister for energy, Almasadam Satkaliyev, and ADB’s head of public–private partnerships, Cleo Kawawaki. Emphasizing that supporting Kazakhstan in developing renewable energy sources is a priority for ADB, Ms. Kawawaki commented: “ADB’s focus is to assist the country’s efforts to address the impacts of climate change, promote decarbonization, and facilitate sustainable economic growth. This will help Kazakhstan achieve its goal of increasing its renewable energy capacity, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance the country’s energy security.” Satkaliyev also proposed collaborating with ADB to attract technological support, investments, and grants to reduce methane emissions in all sectors of Kazakhstan’s economy, including the oil and gas industry.
