IsDB provides additional financing for decade-long Uzbek M39 highway project

The IsDB has signed a US$106.7 million financing agreement in additional funding for the decade long M39 highway repair project in Uzbekistan. Signed with the Uzbekistan Ministry of Investments, Industry and Trade, a total financing of US$396.7 million has been forwarded to boost food security, infrastructure and early childhood education.

The financing package comprises three financing agreements, the largest of which is a US$260 million financing facility for the Integrated Rural Development project, which will contribute to reducing rural poverty through improved access to quality infrastructure and enhance knowledge on climate-smart agricultural practices.

Notably under the agreements is a US$106.7 million facility to be channeled toward the reconstruction and upgrading of the M39 road, a highway which connects the regions of Tashkent and Samarkand, a project which has been ongoing for over 10 years.

In November 2010, the IsDB provided US$180 million toward the reconstruction of the M39 road, which was, at the time, the group’s biggest operation in Uzbekistan.

According to project procurement documentation, the highway repair project will be jointly financed with the OPEC Fund for International Development, the proportion of which has not been disclosed.

The smallest of the financing agreements in the US$396.7 million package is a US$30 million facility for the Enhancing Access to Quality Early Childhood Education project, which is expected to contribute to the Uzbek government’s university and pre-school enrollment targets.

Earlier this month, as part of the group’s developmental efforts for the Central Asian nation, the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector, the IsDB’s private sector finance entity, signed a US$30 million line of finance agreement with Microcreditbank to boost private sector SMEs.

Since Uzbekistan joined the IsDB as a member country in 2003, the IsDB Group has approved US$3.46 billion in funding for Uzbekistan across sectors including agricultural, energy, education and transport.

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