OREANDA-NEWS. February 25, 2009. Vnesheconombank (VEB) Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev told Interfax-Kazakhstan Agency on Monday that the Macquarie Renaissance Infrastructure Fund would start operating as early as in the first half of the current year,

“The Fund will start operating in the first half of the current year”, said Mr. Dmitriev adding that all required procedures had been followed and we are virtually ready to physically  start to form this Fund.

VEB’s Chairman reminded that the document on establishing an infrastructure investment fund was signed in June of the last year by Vnesheconombank, the Kazakhstan State Development Bank, the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), Renaissance Capital and Australia’s Macquarie Bank. Under the memorandum signed at that time, Vnesheconombank is to invest about USD 200 million in the Fund.

At the same time, V. Dmitiev said that now the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) expressed an interest in participating in the Fund. They made appropriate corporate decisions on entering into the Fund.

“The Fund’s financial resources will be used for implementing infrastructure projects in CIS countries and credit resources will be made available by VEB, the Kazakhstan State Development Bank and the Eurasian Development Bank.

And we are absolutely sure that as soon as the Fund starts operating we’ll get a number of private and institutional investors to participate in it including ones from the Middle East”, said V. Dmitriev.

The Funds intends to invest funds in infrastructure projects on the territory of CIS countries and Russia would account for at least 50% of projects, he added.