TASHKENT

South Korea’s Export-Import Bank (Eximbank) intends to provide a $238.8 million loan to Uzbekistan for two projects to improve the Central Asian nation’s healthcare system.

The loan agreements between the Eximbank and Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment and Foreign Trade were signed in Seoul ahead of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s visit, the ministry said in a press release.

The first project with a total cost of $88.8 million aims to provide Uzbek medical establishments with modern equipment, while under the second project a loan of $150 million will be spent to construct an oncological clinic.

In May, Uzbekistan secured a $100 million long-term loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and another $100 million loan with similar terms from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

The funds have been used to take urgent measures to counter the coronavirus infection and reinforce the health system.

The government plans to use funds to refurbish 16 hospitals as COVID-19 centres, strengthen 38 laboratories and supply equipment to increase testing capacity for COVID-19 and other diseases, purchase 1,000 new ambulances, train healthcare workers to identify COVID-19 cases and develop a real-time digital reporting system.

In May 2020, the ADB  allocated a $1.6 million grant for Uzbekistan to procure medical equipment and supplies to support the country’s efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic. The grant was paid out in addition to $200,000 in technical assistance allocated to Uzbekistan in March last year to acquire medical supplies, while $19.5 million in loan savings from existing ADB projects had been reallocated to purchase 800 ventilators.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, ADB has been working with the government and other development partners to mobilise additional resources to further strengthen Uzbekistan’s health care system.