The Asian Development Bank and the Government of Mongolia signed loan and grant agreements totaling $85.6 million for projects focused on developing the country’s first distributed renewable energy system and improving tax administration and public investment management using information and communications technology.

The agreements were signed by Minister of Finance Khurelbaatar Chimed and ADB Country Director for Mongolia Yolanda Fernandez Lommen at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar. Representatives from the Ministry of Energy and Mongolian Tax Authority witnessed the event.

“These projects will support the government’s efforts to raise the share of renewable energy, decrease carbon dioxide emissions, and improve public financial resource mobilization and management,” said Lommen. “They are also closely aligned with ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for Mongolia to foster inclusive growth, improve people’s access to services, and strengthen environmental sustainability.”

The renewable energy loan will develop a 41-MW distributed renewable energy system—a first-of-its-kind in Mongolia—using solar photovoltaic and wind powers with advanced battery storage technology and energy management systems. The project will result in the supply of clean and reliable electricity to about 260,000 people in remote and less-developed towns in western Mongolia, who currently rely on high-cost and high-polluting carbon-intensive electricity. ADB’s funding of $40.0 million is supplemented by grant cofinancing; $14.6 million from the Strategic Climate Fund under the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program in Low-Income Countries; and $6.0 from the Japan Fund for the Joint Crediting Mechanism. The Government of Mongolia is contributing $5.6 million to the project.

The second project will support the Mongolian Tax Authority in its tax collection efforts by streamlining processes for tax administration and public investment in line with international good practice. The $25 million loan will establish an information system and provide required ICT infrastructure to host it.