Uzbekistan and the World Bank have signed a $239 million loan agreement for a water supply improvement project and a 50-million-dollar loan to modernize the national innovation system, Uzbek authorities said Tuesday as Xinhuanet reported.
The documents were signed following talks with a visiting World Bank delegation headed by Anna Bjerde, the bank's vice president for Europe and Central Asia, according to the country's Ministry of Economic Development and Poverty Reduction.
The water supply improvement project plans to improve and expand access to water and sewerage services for more than 500,000 people in several regions of the central Asian nation. In addition, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs will allocate a 7.8-million-dollar grant for the same project, the ministry said.
The $50 million concessional loans, provided by the World Bank, will be used to modernize Uzbekistan's national innovation system, which will help Uzbek researchers commercialize their scientific and innovative products and services.
The ministry added that the World Bank agreed to continue to provide financial and advisory assistance to the country in reforms aimed at its transition to an inclusive and sustainable market economy.
HJ/PR