BRICS New Development Bank considering Russian infrastructure projects
The head of the New Development Bank (NDB), which funds infrastructure projects within the BRICS bloc of developing nations, says it's considering two Russian projects worth over half a billion dollars.
"In Russia, we have two active projects… [estimated at] $560 million, both of which are sovereign," said NDB chief Kundapur Vaman Kamath.
One of them concerns the reform of the judicial system, in particular, IT systems and buildings, Kamath said. The second involves building a part of a high-speed road in Russia, he added without specifying where in the country it will be constructed.
Last week, the bank ratified a $100 million loan to construct small hydroelectric power stations in Russia’s Republic of Karelia.
Overall, NDB has 23 projects costing $6 billion, including $1.7 billion in China and $1.8 billion in India, Kamath said.
NDB is run by BRICS countries Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Each country has a 20 percent shareholding and voting rights. The bank says all members of the United Nations could join the bank. However, the BRICS nations can never be less than 55 percent of the voting power.
The BRICS countries created the New Development Bank in July 2014. The head office of the bank is in Shanghai. The bank’s capital is up to $100 billion.
The first project was a $811 million loan for a rooftop solar power project in China.
