International Development Assistance to Large Infrastructure Projects in the Countries of Central Asia

Yury K. Zaytsev – Senior Researcher of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Associate Professor (Moscow, Russia). Е-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The article examines the programs of international donors in the infrastructure development sector of the countries of Central Asia. The author points to the low level of investment in infrastructure development in the countries of the region and the importance of donor assistance directed to this sector. Despite geographic proximity and a common integration agenda with a number of countries, Russia is not the main donor in Central Asia. Russian projects are concentrated mainly in the energy sector and economic infrastructure in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The OECD countries and China remain the largest partners in the development of the states of the region.

The article was prepared as part of the research work of the state task of the RANEPA.

Key words: infrastructure projects, official development assistance, Central Asia, OECD countries, China, Russian Federation.

JEL-codes: F02, F21, F35.