CALL FOR PROPOSALS

Eurasian Development Bank is pleased to announce the research grant competition within the regional integration programme of the Technical Assistance Fund.

Its goal is to support research on eurasian integration issues and international co-operation development.

The competition’s aim is to establish experts community which will make contribution to the Eurasian integration development, to create and support network of institutions in the EDB member states and young researchers.

Research proposals can be submitted either by individuals or small teams from the Bank’s member states focused on regional, economic, political, social and cultural co-operation in Eurasia. Deadline for applications: January 15, 2010

Terms and conditions and application procedure in Russian are available here.

The Inter-state Council of EurAsEC resolved that its newly created Anti-crisis Fund will be managed jointly by the Fund’s Council and the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB). The Fund’s Council will comprise the ministers of finance of the member states, and the Fund’s resources will total an equivalent of $10 billion. In addition, the EDB will be entitled to extend loans to inter- state projects using the Fund’s resources.

Igor Finogenov, Chairman of the EDB Executive Board, said that “for the national economies of EurAsEC, creation of such a Fund is an effective and timely measure to respond to the global financial crisis. Since its operations are concentrated in Russia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia, the EDB is in a position to collect comprehensive knowledge of the region’s countries, and the common business trends existing in these countries. This, in turn, ensures the high quality of the Bank’s investment decisions. Moreover, the EDB is the only development bank in the region tailored for assisting integration. That is why we are ready to offer our experience and infrastructure for managing the resources of the EurAsEC Anti-crisis Fund”.

At present, the EDB’s member states are Russia and Kazakhstan. Armenia, Belarus and Tajikistan applied for joining the Bank, and their applications were approved by the Bank’s Council in December 2008. Kyrgyzstan is finalizing the procedures required for making an official application for EDB membership.

Stantsiya Ekibastuzskaya GRES-2, operator of Ekibastuz Power Plant 2, officially authorised the Eurasian Development Bank to organise financing for its project to build the Plant’s third power generating unit of 500MWT. The total cost of this project aimed at enhancing the Plant’s capacity is estimated at EUR 400 million. EDB is expected to provide up to EUR 170 million in a loan for up to fifteen years.

Investments in the power sector and high technology is a priority for EDB, and this project is in keeping with its strategic goal of assisting the integration process in the post-Soviet space. The third generating unit of Ekibastuzskaya GRES-2 is expected to ease power shortages in North Kazakhstan and adjacent regions of Russia, and to contribute to the economic integration of the two countries. (The Plant is co-owned on a parity basis by InterRAO EES of Russia and the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan).

Earlier, the EDB has provided finance for the reconstruction of the existing power generating units of Ekibastuz Power Plant 2 through its USD 93.5 million, ten-year facility opened in 2006. These funds will be used to re-equip the Plant and boost its efficiency. As importantly, the modernisation of the Plant’s existing capacity and commissioning of a new power generating is a step towards a unified energy market in EurAsEC.

The key issues to be discussed at the conference include energy sector development and water resources, integration of transport networks, institutional and financial issues of transborder infrastructure. Round table on issues of integration processes measurement and estimation will be held within the conference. This conference brings together economists, scientists, experts as well as policymakers with an expertise on integration processes in Eurasia.

If you have any questions regarding organizational aspects, please contact

Botagoz Kulakbayeva,
Lead specialist, Strategy and Research Department
Kulakbayeva_BK@eabr.org

The Eurasian Development Bank (EDB) is an international development institution founded to assist economic development and integration in Eurasia.

EDB invites bids from consultants to carry out a comparative assessment of the technical and economic parameters of proposals to construct a new navigable canal between the Caspian and Azov-Black Sea basins.

The consultant’s services will include a comparison of proposals to construct the second line of the Volga-Don canal or the Eurasia canal aimed at eliminating restrictions on freight transportation between the Caspian and Azov-Black Sea basins. In particular, the consultant will

• assess the potential cargo and vessel capacity, the extent of proposed water transport facilities, the adequacy of available water resources and the compatibility of the proposed facilities with local environmental conditions;
• determine the technical and economic parameters of constructing and operating the proposed facilities;
• prepare a pre-design comparison of proposals to construct the second line of the Volga-Don canal and the Eurasia canal;
• provide other services as indicated in the Terms of Reference.

Prospective bidders must be consulting firms possessing the qualifications and experience necessary for performing the assignment, which are duly licensed to provide the respective services and which are of sound financial standing with no tax arrears.

Candidates should send a letter of interest and documents certifying their eligibility and qualification (brochures, summaries of similar assignments, details of work undertaken in the last five years, availability of qualified personnel) to Mr. Vladimir Yasinsky, Director of Strategy and Research, Member of the Executive Board of the Eurasian Development Bank, to:

• fax: +7 (727) 244 65 70;
• postal address: 98 Panfilova St., Almaty, 050000, Republic of Kazakhstan; or
• email address: Yasinskiy_VA@eabr.org

The Bank will accept expressions of interest from individual companies or consortia. If the bidder is a consortium, its letter of interest must be supported by a letter of intent signed by the heads of each consulting firm.

Expressions of interest will be accepted until 18:00 PM (Almaty time) 4 August 2008.

After examining qualifying documents the Bank will draw up a shortlist of consulting firms and consortia to participate in the tender and shall promptly notify the selected candidates to that effect.

For additional information about the terms and conditions of bidding, please call +7 (727) 244 68 75 on weekdays from 10.00 AM to 16.00 PM (Almaty time), from 7 July to 3 August 2008 .

Contact: Vladimir Yasinsky, Director of Strategy and Research, Member of the Executive Board.

EDB invites participants to take part in its second EDB Roundtable — Development of Transborder Infrastructure in Eurasia — which will take place in Moscow on May 15—16, 2008. The second roundtable will focus on questions relating to the integration of physical infrastructure in the Eurasion arena. Questions regarding the hydro-electric sector, the general energy sector, integration of transportation networks, including transport corridors, as well as general questions of institutional and financial transborder physical infrastructure integration will be discussed. Leading scientists, experts and specialists from EurAsEC and the CIS will be participating.

Roundtable Organization:

The roundtable is organized in such a way as to maximize the time and opportunity for open and constructive discussion of the topics. It will include short presentations (20 minutes), response time, moderated sections as well as sufficient breaks between sections.

The working language of the roundtable is Russian.

Results of the roundtable will be published in the journal, "Eurasian Integration" in which the Bank participates. We ask the participants to please provide their presentations/notes to the Bank within one month following the roundtable.

Participants in the roundtable will be provide airfare (economy class) and accommodation in a hotel. Participation in the roundtable is free of charge. The number of grants may be limited.

For further information, please contact:
Tel: +7-727-244-4044 ext. 6139,
Email: Baidasheva_ZA@eabr.org
Zhanna Baidasheva, specialist, Analytical Department
Eurasian Development Bank

Today, the EDB launched its brand new web site.  More informative and user-friendly, the site was redesigned to give visitors to the site more comprehensive informnation about the Bank in an easy-to-find format.  In addition to information about the Bank, the new site provides contact details for various important divisions within the Bank. 

The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution confirming the EDB's observer status.  This is the first step in the Bank becoming an international financial institution.