EBRD pledges $200m to address Tajik energy crisis

Tajik energy crisis: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is to invest $200m in Tajikistan this year – almost three times the total for 2014  – with the modernization of the country’s electricity infrastructure a top priority. Tajikistan’s energy sector is in crisis, with around  70% of its citizens suffering from extensive shortages of electricity each winter, a situation that is also  estimated to cost the country $200m per annum in downtime, or 3% of its entire GDP.
The decision was announced after a meeting on Tuesday in Dushanbe between National Bank of Tajikistan First Deputy Chairman Jamoliddin Nuraliev and the EBRD’s director for Central Asia and Mongolia  Masaru Honma. 
A delegation from the EBRD will also travel to Tajikistan next month to discuss technical support for the banking sector. 
In July 2015, the EBRD approved a new country strategy for Tajikistan for the next four years that included stimulating  economic growth through support for the expansion of the private sector, particularly SMEs; improving the business environment; upgrading and commercialising the country’s public utility services;  and fostering regional connectivity and economic integration.