ASTANA (TCA) — Kazakhstan has become the largest country in Europe and Central Asia in terms of attraction of investments from the World Bank which have now reached $6.8 billion, First Deputy Minister of National Economy of Kazakhstan Marat Kussainov said on April 13, the official website of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.
These funds have been allocated for the development of road and social infrastructure, improvement of the competitiveness of SMEs, modernization of the education and healthcare systems, optimization of customs and tax administration, and environmental protection, Kussainov said while speaking in the Kazakh parliament.
He said that joint projects worth $4.9 billion will be implemented in Kazakhstan in 2016-2021, of which $4.3 billion will be co-financed by the World Bank.
In 2015 the World Bank approved a loan worth $1 billion to cover Kazakhstan’s budget deficit. The second tranche of the loan, in the amount of $1 billion, is planned to be approved in July 2016.
“This year we plan to ratify three new projects with the World Bank worth more than $1.3 billion, such as the Reconstruction of the Astana-Beyneu corridor “Center-West”, the Social-parameter medical insurance project, and Modernization of the education system,” Kussainov said.
Kazakhstan joined the World Bank Group in 1992. Since then, the Bank has funded 45 projects in the country. Today, the World Bank program in Kazakhstan is concentrated on institutional development in the areas of education, health, innovations, revenue administration as well as transport infrastructure and environment.
