A Credit Agreement was signed between the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and “Almaty Power Plants” JSC (APP), a company within the Kazakhstani power holding company, “Samruk-Energy” JSC, today in Astana. The document aims to finance the project "Modernization of Almaty CHP-2 with reduction of impact on the environment," which has now entered the practical implementation stage.
The event was attended by Nurlan Zhakupov, Chairman of the Board of “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC, Masatsugu Asakawa, President of ADB, and Serik Tutebayev, Chairman of the Board of “Samruk-Energy” JSC. The loan agreement totaling 98 billion tenge was signed by Yerlan Kirkinbayev, Chairman of the Board of “APP” JSC and Shantanu Chakraborty, Director of the Private Sector Infrastructure Projects Department for South, Central, and West Asia at ADB.
For “APP” JSC, the owner of Almaty CHP-2, ADB stands as the third financial partner to sign a Credit Agreement for the implementation of the project. Previously, corresponding financing agreements for the construction of a new gas station in Almaty city near the old CHP-2 were signed with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Development Bank of Kazakhstan (DBK).
According to Yerlan Kirkinbayev, the head of APP, signing the loan agreement with ADB resolves all financing issues related to the project. The CHP-2 will undergo complete conversion to natural gas, discontinuing the use of coal as fuel.
The project for the modernization and conversion of Almaty CHP-2 to gas is being implemented with the support of “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC. As part of the signing of the credit agreement between APP and ADB, a Guarantee Agreement was signed between “Samruk-Kazyna” JSC and ADB. According to experts from the Kazakhstani Fund, the signed document will minimize risks and improve the conditions for project financing.
As a reminder, previously, following a two-stage open international tender conducted in accordance with international standards and EBRD rules, the contractor for the construction of a new gas turbine power plant was determined to be a consortium of three prominent Chinese companies specializing in energy projects. In late May of the current year, "APP" JSC entered into an EPC contract with the winning consortium for the complete execution of the project, including engineering, equipment supply, construction, installation, commissioning, and operation.
In addition to the modernization of Almaty CHP-2, APP's project portfolio includes the construction of a 545 MW combined-cycle gas power plant at the site of Almaty CHP-3, the reconstruction of Almaty CHP-1 with the construction of ССGT unit with a capacity of up to 250 MW. Furthermore, we have initiated the development of projects for the modernization of Kapchagay HPP with the construction of a counter-regulator on the Ili River and the reconstruction of HPP Cascade.
