Moscow, 5 October 2011. International and national development banks are the main source of investment for infrastructure projects. Gennady Zhuzhlev, Deputy Chairman of the Eurasian Development Bank’s (EDB) Executive Board, said this at the Expert-400 Forum of Large Businesses: Who Makes the Russian Economy. The forum invited top managers of Russia’s largest corporations, representatives of the Russian government, and key experts to discuss the targets and global competitiveness of the Russian economy.
According to Gennady Zhuzhlev, development banks’ participation and their important function in the implementation of infrastructure projects are determined by their customary goals and by the common characteristics of the projects they finance. These are higher-than-average investments for a market, long fulfilment and payback periods, and a need for special finance conditions because of the lengthy investment phase.
In the course of discussions, Gennady Zhuzhlev emphasised that the EDB’s priority industries are the power, transport and transport infrastructure sectors, high-tech and efficient production that uses new technologies, and PPP investment projects.
The examples of the EDB’s projects mentioned by Gennady Zhuzhlev are the construction of the third power generating unit at Ekibastuz GRES-2 in Kazakhstan, the launching of a high-tech production at the Tikhvin Freight Car Building Plant in Leningrad Oblast, the construction of a modern MDF board plant in Tomsk, and the development and production of the Sukhoi SuperJet 100 regional aircraft.
