Syndicated and Blended Financing for Green Infrastructure in Kazakhstan: Risk Allocation and Bankability

Large green infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan may exceed the tenor or exposure capacity of a single lender class. This paper examines how syndicated lending and blended finance can support project bankability through lender specialisation, maturity extension, currency matching and structured risk allocation. The study combines institutional analysis, peer-reviewed research, comparative public case evidence and a fully specified illustrative project-finance model. Four Kazakhstan cases are considered: Zhanatas Wind Farm, the KEGOC grid reinforcement programme, the Big Almaty Ring Road concession as a non-green financing comparator, and the Mirny wind and battery project. The cases illustrate how multilateral development banks can provide long-tenor anchor debt, mobilise commercial lenders through A/B or club structures, and introduce common environmental, social and governance disciplines. Under stated assumptions for a USD 700 million project, a 15-year commercial structure produces annual debt service of USD 62.78 million and a debt service coverage ratio of 1.19. A syndicated A/B structure produces a ratio of 1.37, while a blended structure with a concessional tranche produces 1.46. The improvements reflect both specified funding costs and differentiated tenors; syndication alone does not guarantee cheaper funding. The paper proposes a bankability framework supported by common due diligence, intercreditor rules, transparent monitoring and a documented test of concessional additionality.